Into the Arms of A Mercenary
by BlueRose-Phantom
Summary: This is a story of how Izayoi, Naraku's daughter, fell in love with the leader of the Band of Seven, Bankotsu. There will be a few FF7 characters included. R&R but NO FLAMES PLEASE! This is my 1st fanfic so go easy on me! Rated M for later chapters.
1. Chapter 1

Author's Note: This is a story me and my friend made up randomly over the summer. The character Izayoi is not the same character as Inuyasha's mother. We just used the name. Also I do not own any character from 'Inuyasha'. You can R&R if you want, but NO FLAMES PLEASE!! This is my first fanfic so go easy on me!!

**Chapter 1**

Izayoi was having a great time at the Four Seasons, her favorite club. She had recently turned 15 and was celebrating with her friends. And it wasn't just a couple of friends. It was almost the whole high school celebrating! She was the most popular girl at school and everyone enjoyed talking to her. The guys were always flirts with her , seeing as she was the prettiest girl at school. When Izayoi saw that it was 2:30 in the morning, she told everyone she was already leaving. It probably took like 20 minutes to say goodbye to everyone in the club, but she somehow managed to get out. She and her younger sister, Izanami, took a shortcut home through the park. As they silently walked, Izanami looked at Izayoi and noticed how beautiful her sister was, with the moon in the background. She had soft, wavy, perfect black hair that went beautifully with her pale, but smooth, skin. And to top it off, she had unique red eyes that somehow made her seem even more beautiful. Izanami was in good shape herself, but she was nothing compared to Izayoi's body. Izayoi was perfectly proportioned and curved. In other words, everyone, including Izanami, said that Izayoi was the exact definition for 'perfect' and 'beautiful'. Izayoi also moved in a graceful and royal way. With all of these traits she had, it was difficult not to be jealous of Izayoi. Izayoi looked so different from Izanami (who looked like their mom), that she assumed that Izayoi looked like their father, whom they had never met. "Let's go on the swings for a while, my feet are killing me," Izayoi suggested. They sat down on the swings and admired the beautiful night. "Is that a crate or something?" Izanami said, pointing to something next to Izayoi. "Looks like an old-fashioned well," Izayoi said. She walked over to the well to examine it when the boards covering the well came apart. Izayoi backed away and Izanami jumped off the swing in fear. Tentacle-like arms appeared out of the well and grabbed Izayoi around the waist and dragged her in before her or Izanami could do anything.


	2. Chapter 2

**Chapter 2**

Izayoi was, all of a sudden, in the middle of what appeared to be a forest with the well behind her, looking innocent. She was totally lost and confused. She decided to call Izanami. Izayoi took out her cellphone, but it said that there was no service available at the moment. She put it back in her pocket, feeling hopeless. "Hey! Are you Izayoi?!" Izayoi turned around and saw a dark-haired handsome man approaching her from a distance. As he came closer, Izayoi noticed that he was wearing armor and wielding a huge sword. "Well, **are **you Izayoi?" he asked again.

"Yeah...I am," Izayoi replied, barely being able to take her eyes off his face. "Sorry to keep you waiting. I'm supposed to escort you to Naraku's place," he said. "I'm Bankotsu, by the way. Come on, let's get going." "Who's Naraku?" Izayoi asked as she walked next to him. "He's your dad. Don't ask me how. I don't know the whole story," Bankotsu said. "Is his home far from here, 'cuz I'm kind of tired and I don't feel like walking," Izayoi complained. "It kind of **is** a long walk, so I might carry you for a while, if you want me to," Bankotsu said, looking at a butterfly pass by. Izayoi blushed and looked away, pleased about the idea Bankotsu carrying her in his arms. "Umm...do you work for Naraku?" she asked him, still looking away. "Uh...well I do favors for him since he revived me." "He revived you?" Izayoi asked incredulously. "Yeah, with a Shikon Jewel shard. He'll explain everything," Bankotsu said impatiently. They continued to walk in silence for a few more minutes. It was weird that Izayoi, who normally got along well with guys, was so shy and nervous around Bankotsu. She assumed it was because of his good looks. She was resisting the impulse to tackle him down and let him do as he pleased with her.

"Sooo...you're a half-demon, right?" Bankotsu said after a while. Izayoi snapped back into reality. "WHO THE HELL DO YOU THINK YOU ARE?! CALLING ME A DEMON!!" Izayoi screamed. Bankotsu backed away as Izayoi glared at him with her fiery red eyes. "Hey, chill out! Your dad's a demon, so you must be one, too!" he replied furiously. "OH! NOW YOU'RE INSULTING MY FAMILY, ARE YOU?! YOU BASTARD!!" "IF I DIDN'T HAVE TO PROTECT YOU, I SWEAR YOU WOULD'VE ALREADY BEEN DEAD!!" They glared at each other so intensely that bolts of lightning must have been visible. Izayoi gave Bankotsu one last disdainful look before turning away again. "_Damn! I'm so STUPID! I've ruined my chances with him_," Izayoi thought furiously. Bankotsu was thinking to himself and tried not to explode. "_Why I'm stuck with this spoiled brat? Well...it's not that all bad...because she is good-looking. Nothing else is wrong with her except that she's really fussy_!" he thought. Then he stared at her while she wasn't looking, but Izayoi was just too busy looking at a butterfly passing by which distracted Bankotsu for a minute. "What a beautiful butterfly!" Izayoi whispered to herself and smiled. Bankotsu turned to ask her what she had said. "None of your business!" she replied angrily. "Are you still mad over that family issue thingy?" "Just drop it man." After many more pointless arguments later, Bankotsu said,"We arrived." Izayoi looked up and exclaimed,"Wow! That's a huge castle!" He turned around and replied,"Right? I usually get lost in there." She looked at him in funny way and said,"Really...a tough man like you getting lost in a castle. That's hard to believe." She started laughing. He turned around with an annoyed look on his face. "Hey I'm not the only one that gets lost around here you know!" She continued to laugh at him. "Sorry I can't help myself. It's funny for some reason. Maybe it's your face that looks funny." "Oh yeah!? Your face is funny too so shut up!" She started to laugh even harder. "Whatever. Your mother got laid by a dog and that's why you look that way you do!" Bankotsu blushed and said,"You take that back! You're so stuck up." Izayoi replied,"What!? I am NOT stuck up!" "Yes you are. 'Oh look at me! I'm like the most popular girl around because I like have the best of everything. I'm like the prettiest girl too 'cause I dress like a whore!' " Bankotsu said, with a girly voice. "What did you just say!?" Izayoi said, furiously as she grabbed him by his braid. "Hey let go, snobby!" Bankotsu said. He seized a chunk of her long hair and tugged on it. "Let go you bastard!" Izayoi screamed at him, with both their cheeks touching. "Not 'til you let go, spoiled brat!" "Ummm...am I interrupting something?"

Bankotsu and Izayoi stopped their little struggle and turned around. "Oh hey Kohaku!" Bankotsu said, letting go of Izayoi's hair and pushing her aside. "So umm...where's Naraku?" "He's not available at the moment," Kohaku said. "However, Kagura will be able to take you to your room to get settled." "Get settled for what?" Izayoi saw a woman wearing a pretty kimono and holding a fan appear behind Kohaku. "Is this the girl, Kohaku?" she asked him. "Yes," Kohaku replied in a mesmerized voice. "Fine then. Follow me," Kagura said in a resigned way. "Do you know where Naraku is?" Izayoi said, trailing behind Bankotsu like a puppy. "Him? He never tells me where he's going. He doesn't trust me," she replied angrily. "Anyway, here we are. Make yourself at home." After that, she stalked off angrily. "I just wish the walls were purple. Sooo...what do people here do for fun?" Izayoi asked Bankotsu after quickly looking around her new room. "Well, I kill people with my brothers. That's always fun," he responded. "Okaaaay...besides that, I mean," Izayoi said, a little startled. "Not much, I guess. People usually just go for walks. There _are_ some nice places to walk around," Bankotsu said. "_Wow! It's really boring here_!" Izayoi thought. She suddenly had the urge to know more about her father. "Bankotsu, what's my father like? You know...his personality?" "Umm, he's smart. And evil I guess," he replied. "_God, I'm gonna live with a bunch of mentally disturbed people_," Izayoi thought. "Do you want to meet my brothers?" Bankotsu asked casually. "Sure there's nothing better to do," Izayoi said. They went back outside. "_I wonder if his brothers are as hot as he is_," Izayoi thought to herself.


	3. Chapter 3

_Author's Note: Hi! I'm just here to clarify a few things. Hakudoshi and Kanna are both older in this story about 16 and 17 years old. If you want to picture how Izayoi looks, see the second Inuyasha movie 'The Castle Beyond The Looking Glass'. The girl Princess Kaguya is more or less how Izayoi looks. I apologize if any of the characters act a little bit off-character. You may still R&R if you like but once again, NO FLAMES PLEASE! I don't own 'Inuyasha' or any songs mentioned in this fanfic. _

_**Chapter 3**_

The next morning, Izayoi woke up feeling like she truly was the princess of the castle. She yawned and felt that she got a great amount of sleep. She remembered the previous day's argument with Bankotsu and still felt a little mad towards him. Yet she couldn't get him out of her mind. '"That was a totally pointless argument with Bankotsu! Well, it was his fault in the first place. Why I am thinking about that idiot always? All he does is get me angry," she whispered to herself so loudly that if anyone were to have seen her she would've seemed to be insane. She was talking to herself about what she was going to do. "First, I need to get dressed! So where's the suppose servants here?!" Izayoi slid a door open to look inside her closet and started trying on the kimonos hanging there. "This one is too big!" Izayoi was throwing her clothes like crazy trying to find the perfect fit. Then, a servant girl came in and saw Izayoi throwing all her clothes on the bed and around the area. "What's going on here?!" Izayoi turned to face the servant and spoke up with a sort of bossy tone. "I can't find the perfect fit for me. Can you help me find something?!" The girl turned to look at the clothing around her and grabs a random one with pink flowers on it. "How about this one?" Izayoi had a grossed out expression on her face. "No. That's pretty and all, but I don't want to be all loose. I want it tight, but not too tight!"

In the hall, passing through, Kagura was hearing all the noise going about the room and went to investigate. She entered Izayoi's room and it was mess, with all the closet emptied out with a few clothes still hanging. Kagura stood at the doorway and put her fan close to her mouth and said,"What's with all the mess, Izayoi?" Izayoi turned to face Kagura. The servant girl was holding another kimono with yellow flowers on it. "Oh, Kagura! Thank god you're here! I need a kimono!" Kagura took another look around the room and looked back at Izayoi. "Izayoi, you already tried a bunch of them. Just put on whichever one." Izayoi started to complain about her kimonos. "They're all pretty but...THEY'RE JUST TOO LOOSE! Why don't you lend me one of your kimonos, Kagura?!" Izayoi dropped the kimono she had in her hands and stood in front of Kagura with her hands together like she was going to pray. Izayoi wanted to have something like what Kagura was wearing, but a little different. "Oh, come on, Kagura! Please?!" Kagura stared at her with a blank expression on her face. Finally, she accepted. "Alright! Come with me." Kagura lead Izayoi and left the servant girl by herself in the room. "Is this okay?" Kagura said, after choosing a beautiful black and pink kimono adorned with flower designs. "It's too small for me. It might fit you better." Izayoi went back to her room to try on the kimono. The room was clean from all of the kimonos she had thrown onto the floor. She supposed that the servant girl had cleaned the room. Izayoi tried on the kimono and went over to the mirror to see how it looked. And it looked great! Not too tight and not too loose. It was perfect! "I see it fits you well. You can keep it, seeing that it'll take a while for the servants to fix your kimonos to the right size," Kagura said reappearing at the doorway. "Really? Thanks Kagura!" Izayoi said. Kagura went away to do something and Izayoi said,"Now what do I do? Normally I would wake up and watch Spongebob, but there's no T.V. here! I guess I'll go look around." She walked down a hallway and nearly bumped into Kohaku. "Oh, Izayoi! Naraku sent me to look for you.

He said that he wishes to speak to you," he said. "He's in his room." Kohaku began to walk away, but Izayoi grasped his arm and said,"Umm...do you think you can take me there? I don't know this place too well you know." "Uhh, okay," he replied. Kohaku led the way to Naraku. She was finally going to meet her father. Suddenly, she became aware that she had only heard about her father, and not anything about her mother. "Master Naraku, here she is." At the sound of Kohaku's voice, Izayoi snapped back into reality. She hadn't even noticed where they were going. "You may leave, Kohaku." Izayoi heard the dark, silky voice speak her name. "Izayoi, feel free to sit down." Izayoi saw Naraku sitting beside a window with a creepy looking girl with white hair. She had soulless black eyes and was holding a mirror. She approached them and sat down. She glanced up at Naraku and noticed how extraordinarily alike she was to him. He had the same long, wavy black hair, red eyes, and pale skin. Izayoi found it hard to believe that such a handsome man was her father. After a moment, he spoke up.

"It's been along time. The last time I saw you, you were a little girl. Kagura was right, you look so much like me." Naraku looked at Izayoi and extended his hand out to her. She stared cluelessly at it. "Come closer, child,"he smiled and pulled her closer to his chest to hug her. Izayoi face was resting on his chest. She was thinking how he was suppose to be evil from what Bankotsu had told her the previous day. _"Isn't Naraku suppose to be evil? That's what Bankotsu said. I mean know for a fact that evil people don't have feeling for nobody, but themselves_," she thought. She felt her face turn red and Naraku pulled away from her and said,"The reason why you're here is--"Naraku was cut off by Izayoi. "Because of you I can't watch my shows and well, I can't go back! Basically, I'm stuck here!" Izayoi was angry the fact she had been brought to the Feudal Era and she couldn't go back home. Naraku stared at her because of her reaction and then, out of nowhere, Kagura came in uninvited and spoke up,"Well, Naraku...she is definitely your daughter." Naraku turned around and gave Kagura an evil, dirty look that she ignored. "Kagura..." Suddenly, Izayoi remembered that her cell phone had Internet and she pulled out her cellphone. Naraku stared at the phone. Then Izayoi told Naraku what it was. "It's a cellphone if you're wondering what it is." Izayoi show Naraku and he said,"What does it do? Capture souls?" "No. But it can do a lot. Like text, go on the Internet, tell time, talk to people, and take pictures." "Internet? Pictures?" Naraku questioned her. "Yeah. Ok, stay still and smile for the camera!" Izayoi took the picture of Naraku and showed it to him; made him look a hot sexy model. "You look absolutely good here. You look like you could be a male model and girl's dreamboat guy." Naraku smiled at Izayoi's comment and Naraku continued with his whole 'reason why she was there' explanation. "Well, as I was saying...the reason why you're here is that..." Izayoi turned around and heard Bankotsu's voice say,"Hey, Kohaku!"; Naraku was interrupted yet again. "What's going on, here? Are you ready to go? " Bankotsu came in the room and saw Izayoi holding the cellphone. "What's that?" "It's a phone. I was taking a picture of Naraku." "Okaaaay...I guess," he said, looking confused. Izayoi turned to Naraku and asked,"Can I go with him?" He was staring into the creepy girl's mirror and said,"Yes, you may." Izayoi left with Bankotsu, pleased that she was going to spend the day with him. "Where are we going anyway?" she asked him. "I don't really know. Just to hang out, I guess," he said. "That sounds boring,"Izayoi said. "Fine, I'll take you horseback riding for a while. Is that better?" Bankotsu asked, annoyed. "Really?! I wanna ride a horse!"Izayoi said, sounding like a little girl. They walked to the pond they were at yesterday where Izayoi saw a pretty palomino horse tied to a tree. Bankotsu helped her get on then he mounted on behind her. As he gripped the horse's reins, it seemed as if he was holding Izayoi by her waist. She blushed at this thought. "Is this your horse?" she asked him resting her head on his chest to look at him. "No this is Renkotsu's. I 'borrowed' it, if you know what I mean. He's bound to blame Jakotsu for it anyway," Bankotsu replied. It was actually quite pleasant to ride a horse on a day as beautiful as today. Suddenly, Izayoi's phone rang with 'Kiss, Kiss' (by Chris Brown ft. T-Pain). "What's that?" Bankotsu asked, somewhat startled. "Oh that's just my phone," Izayoi said, taking it out and checking who it was. "Your phone?" Izayoi got off and saw that it was a text message from her friend Reno. It read: hey izayoi wut u been up 2. i haven't seen u since ur b-day party. where u ? She was going to reply when she became aware of the fact that Bankotsu was looking at the phone over her shoulder. "What are doing with your 'phone'?" he asked. "I'm text messaging. What does it look like I'm doing?" Izayoi replied testily. "Text messaging?" Bankotsu questioned, looking even more confused. "Yeah. It's like I'm sending a letter to my friend." "Who's your friend?" he asked. "Uhh...none of your business?!" Izayoi said annoyed. She turned around to continue her message, but Bankotsu would followed her no matter where she turned. "Quit it!" she said angrily. "I want to see what you're writing to your supposed friend. If you even have one." Izayoi felt totally insulted and yelled,"For your information, I am extremely popular back home and I have lots of friends. Lots more than you do!" "Whatever! You're probably texting yourself!" Bankotsu replied. "How could I text myself? You're such an idiot!" She decided to ignore him and texted Reno as fast as she could: let's just say i'm very far away. i'll talk 2 u l8er cuz i'm kinda busy right now. When he replied 'ok!' Izayoi walked up to Bankotsu and said,"Okay, I'm done texting." "Took you long enough!" he in an annoyed way. "Whatever! You would probably take a whole day just to send one message!"

Bankotsu was annoyed at Izayoi. She looked at him for an instant and then turned to look at a pair butterflies passing by the meadows. She suddenly thought of something to say that would annoy him even more. "Hey, Bankotsu? How can you carry such a big sword with such a small body?" Izayoi said and almost laughed. "I don't have a small body! I've got upper and lower strength!" Izayoi thought about what he meant about 'lower strength' and giggled. (_I wonder what he means by lower strength_!) Bankotsu glared at her and replied angrily,"What?! Did I say something wrong? Why are you laughing?!" She giggled some more and said in an laughing tone,"I ain't gonna tell ya!" She continued to laughed uncontrollably at him. This annoyed Bankotsu even more. "Tell me!" Izayoi wanted to play with him for a little bit. "How about no?!" Bankotsu yelled at her,"If you ain't going to tell me...I'm going to make you!" Izayoi looked up at him straight in the eye and she challenged him. "Oh, yeah?! How?" He looked at her and came closer to Izayoi with a serious look on his face. Izayoi backed away a few steps and looked at him with a scared look on her face. Bankotsu drew even closer to Izayoi.

She backed up until she bumped into a tree. There was no way for her to get away from him. She was paralyzed. Izayoi just stared as his body came closer to her. Izayoi felt her heart beating faster and faster as if it were going to explode. Izayoi felt her cheeks getting redder with every passing minute. Almost all of Bankotsu's weight was on top of her now. Suddenly she thought that Bankotsu was going to kiss her. (_What's going on with Bankotsu? Why is he getting so near? Is he going to kiss me? I hope he does_.) Izayoi waited for Bankotsu to 'kiss her'. She suddenly became aware of how even more good-looking Bankotsu was up close. Bankotsu grabbed Izayoi. She was still waiting for him to get it over with it. (_Get on with it and kiss me you fool_!) However, it wasn't what Izayoi had expected. Bankotsu began to tickle her stomach with his gentle hands. Izayoi was still resting against the tree as she tried to get away from Bankotsu's ticklish hands. "No! Stop--!" Izayoi said it in between her own laughs. Then, as Izayoi fell to the ground shaking with laughter, she accidentally pulled on Bankotsu's hairband from his braid and his luscious hair came loose. Bankotsu stumbled and 'fell' on top of Izayoi. It was a special moment for both Bankotsu and Izayoi. Bankotsu stared at her. His dark cerulean eyes were looking into her crimson eyes. There was such longing in them. Izayoi never took her eyes off of Bankotsu. At that moment, she felt her heart become one with his. When he drew his face closer to Izayoi's, she felt her heart skip a beat. Bankotsu just looked at her and smiled. Gently, he brushed her hair from her face. It began to drizzle. The water drops were falling down on Bankotsu and Izayoi. "It's raining," Izayoi said. Bankotsu looked up at the sky and felt the rain against his skin. Then, he said gently,"Yeah. We better find some shelter or we'll be caught in the rain." Just as Bankotsu finished his sentence, it began to rain even harder and Izayoi stared at him. "You just jinxed it." Bankotsu helped Izayoi up and then they ran to a nearby cave.

They were dripping from head to toe. They sat down on the ground close to the fire to warm their cold shivering bodies from the freezing rain. "Well...what do we do now?" Izayoi asked Bankotsu in a hopeless tone. "All we can do now is wait until the rain subsides. For now, we'll just wait and rest up a bit," he said, braiding his hair. "Do you think I'll ever be able to go back home?" Izayoi said, staring at the fire. Bankotsu looked at her in a confused way and asked,"You want to leave already?" "It's not that I mind being here. I just miss all of my friends," she said sadly. "You can talk to my brothers whenever you want to," he offered. "Uhh...no that's okay. Thanks for the offer though," Izayoi said, thinking of Suikotsu and the first time she met him. "Has it stopped raining?" she asked Bankotsu. He got up to go check. "It's just drizzling a bit," Izayoi heard him say from a distance. "Do you want to leave?" Bankotsu said as he came back. Izayoi's stomach gave out a loud growling noise. "I guess I'll go home to eat something." Bankotsu helped her up and they walked outside where the horse was still there underneath a tree. Izayoi climbed onto the horse with Bankotsu's help and they took a shortcut home through a small forest. Once they arrived, Izayoi got off and walked through the courtyard. When Bankotsu saw that she was nearing the castle's entrance, he yelled out,"Bye, Izayoi!" "Bye, Bankotsu!" Izayoi yelled and waved. "Take care," she added in a whisper. She watch him leave until she could see him no longer. Izayoi walked up the few steps. She decided to look for Kohaku or some other servant. She walked down a long hallway but she couldn't find a single person. "Some service they have here," Izayoi muttered to herself.

"Well, well. You must be Izayoi," a soft, male voice spoke. Izayoi turned and saw a boy of around 16 behind her. He was taller than her and had unusual light purple eyes and long, white hair with a purplish tinge to it. His skin was so pale it seemed to emit an extremely faint glow. Overall, Izayoi thought he was a little creepy but definitely not as creepy as the Band of Seven(excluding Bankotsu of course). Once she got over the first impression, Izayoi thought it all seemed to suit him well. "Who are you supposed to be?" she asked him. "I'm one of Naraku's incarnations. I was surprised to find out that he had hired a mere human to protect you," he said in the same soft, caressing voice. "What's wrong with Bankotsu? He may be human but he's strong," Izayoi said in Bankotsu's defense. "Yes. He **is** strong for a human. However he is no match for me. Everyone thought Naraku would've given me the responsibility of looking after you," he said. There was a strange look in his eyes as he said all this. He approached her and lifted her chin up a bit to look at her more closely. Izayoi stared back at his somewhat handsome face. When her scarlet eyes met his violet ones, she felt as if he was able to see through her mind. "The intensity of your gaze tells me you're a feisty one. I like that," he whispered, withdrawing from her. With one last look at Izayoi, he left. Izayoi stayed where she was. "Who the hell was that?" she whispered. "That was Hakudoshi." Izayoi saw Kagura coming walking towards her. "Ignore him. He just thinks he is superior to others just because he can read others thoughts." "What?!" Izayoi exclaimed. "Oh wait, I forgot! Almost everything is possible in this era." "Just avoid him whenever you can," she advised before disappearing around the corner. Izayoi continued in her search of a servant. "Lady Izayoi!" Izayoi heard a small voice say. She turned and saw that she had just walked past a room that had a dining table in it. "Do you require anything, my Lady?" a little girl asked. "Uhh, actually I do. I was getting hungry and was looking for--" "Don't worry miss. We will make you a delicious meal," the little girl said. "Please, just give us a few minutes, my Lady." The girl led Izayoi to the table. Izayoi sat down and almost immediately the girl came carrying a tray with food came and set it on the table. She bowed and then left. Izayoi thought the food looked delicious. It was a lot of food. "I'm not that hungry," Izayoi said, picking up a pair of chopsticks. She only ate a bowlful of rice and some sushi.

She called for the little girl to take away the rest and to bring her some tea. As she drank the delicious tea, Hakudoshi came in. Izayoi stared at him and decided to follow Kagura's advice about ignoring him. He sat down in front of her and said,"So...you have feelings a specter like Bankotsu, right?" Izayoi nearly spit out her tea. "I do not. Even if I did, how would you know?" she said angrily. Suddenly she remembered something. "_Damn! I forgot that this fucker can read my mind_!" she thought. "Kagura already told you that. So why do you question yourself?" Hakudoshi glared at Izayoi with smirk on his face. He continued to look at her, amused that he was really pissing her off. "You son-of-a-bitch! What are you smiling about?! I'll wipe that smirk off your face and beat the shit out of you!" He continued to smile evilly and gave out a little vile laugh. "Don't get so worked up over nothing," Hakudoshi went on, smiling and laughing at Izayoi. "GET WORKED--UP--OVER--NOTHING?!" Izayoi really wanted to beat the shit out of him and give him a piece of her mind, but then Kagura came in and held down Izayoi before she had the chance to do anything stupid that she would later regret. "Izayoi! Calm down!" Kagura was struggling with the outraged Izayoi from trying to kill the bastard Hakudoshi. He had been asking for his ass to get kicked by Izayoi. "Kagura, let go! I'm going to kill that fucker!" Hakudoshi smiled at Izayoi and got near to her face then lifted Izayoi's chin. "I was right! You are feisty. Anyway, I'll be leaving now...I hope you can calm yourself down. Then, we can talk like people." Hakudoshi ticked off Izayoi. She started to kick and move around to get Hakudoshi. Hakudoshi started to walk away and Izayoi continued to yelled at him from the end of the table. He ignored her. When he reached the doorway, he turned and gave her a smirk before he left. "You get back here! You motherfucker!"

"He's gone for now. You shouldn't let him get to you. I know how you feel; you want to beat him up, but Hakudoshi will recover quickly from an injury like that." Izayoi felt at peace when Hakudoshi finally left the room. Izayoi smiled at Kagura and then she said happily,"I'm going to go outside, wanna come with me?" "No, I have some things to do for Naraku, but maybe next time." Izayoi left Kagura there and walked outside.


	4. Chapter 4

_Author's Note: To Yuti-Chan: Thanks for your reviews! I was afraid that nobody was gonna like it! As for your question, Izayoi meets the Band of Seven the same day as when she went throught the well. If anyone has any question, send them in your reviews. Once again, thanks for your reviews Yuti-Chan. Enjoy the chapter!!_

_**Chapter 4**_

At the courtyard, Izayoi was sitting on the last step of the stairs when Bankotsu came and said called out her name. She turned slowly, with a dull expression on her face. Bankotsu came closer to her and stared at her before he spoke up. "Hey, Izayoi! What's wrong?" Izayoi slowly replied,"Oh, nothing...just here...bored." Bankotsu was thinking of something that would cheer Izayoi up. "I know what might cheer you up!" Izayoi thought about what Bankotsu had in mind. _(I have a feeling that I'm not gonna like this...)_ Bankotsu held out a hand and she grabbed it to get up. Then, they walked to a place that Izayoi didn't want to go to ever again, ever since she went there for the first time.

She started to complain,"Stop dragging me! You're getting my kimono dirty!" Bankotsu sighed and said calmly,"Ok, then. I'll carry you." Bankotsu grabbed Izayoi and threw her over his shoulder. Izayoi was screaming for a moment and then thought to herself_,"He's carrying me!"_ Izayoi started to yelled at him again. "Put me down! I'm not some sack of potatoes you can just throw over your shoulder!" Bankotsu ignored Izayoi while she was kicking and hitting him on his back. He felt Izayoi slipping from him so placed a hand on her butt and pushed her up a bit. Izayoi screamed when she felt his hand on her butt and started to complain even more. "You pervert! How dare you touch me like that?! When I get down from here, I'll give you a piece of my mind!" Bankotsu continued to ignore Izayoi. He smiled to himself then continued to walk normally, as if nothing had just happened. After a few more moments, Izayoi finally calmed down. She remembered that Bankotsu was carrying her. She decided to take advantage of the situation and snuggled into him. Her face was resting on her shoulder and wasn't really bothered about the fact that he was still holding her butt. Izayoi closed her eyes for a few seconds, taking in the wonderful moment.

Bankotsu was blushing a bit at the fact that she was hugging him and didn't let go. "Uhhh...are you okay, Izayoi? Do you have a fever or something?" he asked, as he sat down on a rock. She cuddled into his neck and said in a slurred way,"No. It's just that I'm so comfortable." "Maybe I **should** take you home," Bankotsu said worried. "Bankotsu, you're so soft," Izayoi said, unaware that she was taking it too far. Bankotsu was going to lower her down but she didn't let go. "Nooooooo..." she whined. She didn't want for it to end. Confused, Bankotsu patted her on the back and stroked her hair. Izayoi sighed and looked up at him. Bankotsu gave her a small smile. "Hey! What're you two lovers doing?!" Jakotsu's voice spoke. Bankotsu got startled and pushed Izayoi to the ground.

"Hey!" Izayoi exclaimed, getting up and patting her hair into place. "What do you mean by 'lovers'? I don't love her!" Bankotsu said, embarrassed at being caught doing such a thing. "Brother, why did you push such a lovely lady like her to the floor?" Suikotsu said. He walked over to Izayoi. "She deserves to be treated **much more better **than that." He held out a clawed hand to help her up. Izayoi stared at it for a moment. She suddenly squealed and hid behind Bankotsu. He sighed and crossed his arms. "What did you do to her, brother?" Suikotsu asked. "She's been acting weird for a while now," Bankotsu said. He turned around slightly and said,"You can come out now." He waited for a reply and then repeated,"I said: You can come out now." Somewhat frustrated, he grabbed Izayoi's arm and pulled her to the front. He set her down on his lap like a little girl.

The other members of the Band of Seven were looking at her curiously. She was still a little scared. She pressed into Bankotsu's chest. He sighed again and wrapped his arm around her waist. At his touch, Izayoi felt more relaxed. She knew Suikotsu or the others wouldn't get near her now. "Brother, I noticed that you haven't been training lately," Mukotsu said. "I have to look after her," Bankotsu replied. "If you want, I can look after her while you train," Mukotsu said approaching Izayoi. She squealed in fear again and cuddled into Bankotsu's neck. "I'm afraid I can't let you. I was the one hired by Naraku to protect her. And besides, she's afraid of you," Bankotsu replied calmly, stroking Izayoi's hair again. "Right, Izayoi?" She nodded and looked away. "Brother, have you seen my Inuyasha lately?" Jakotsu asked. "No. But if I do, you'll be the first to know," Bankotsu responded, barely being able contain his laughter. "Please, brother, let me look after her! I won't do anything to her, I swear!" Mukotsu exclaimed. "Sorry, Mukotsu. Can't do that," Bankotsu replied, casually picking a blade of grass out of Izayoi's hair. _"I thought he said he didn't love me. Yet he's taking care of me well," _Izayoi thought. She snuggled into his neck some more.

The scent of his skin allured her and that was why she didn't want to let go of him. "Oh, I wish my Inuyasha could treat me the way you treat her," Jakotsu told Bankotsu, before walking away with Ginkotsu and Kyokotsu. "By the way, where's Renkotsu? Is he plotting something behind my back again?" Bankotsu asked. "No. He's off somewhere. Something about that his horse was missing, I think," Suikotsu answered. Izayoi giggled, remembering what Bankotsu had said about 'borrowing' Renkotsu's horse. "Are you feeling better, Izayoi?" Bankotsu asked. She nodded. "What were you sad about?" he added. "Hakudoshi was bothering me about...stuff," Izayoi said, half lying. She didn't tell him that Hakudoshi had told her about her feelings towards Bankotsu. "Hakudoshi? Oh! You mean that creepy kid that can read your mind?" "Yeah. Him," Izayoi said. She was happy that Bankotsu was showing concern for her little problem. "He creeps the hell out of me. Just stay out of his way," he continued. "That's what Kagura told me to do," Izayoi said, taking in the arousing scent of his skin again.

"Hey Suikotsu! You wouldn't happen to have any sake with you?" Bankotsu asked. "Just a little bit," Suikotsu replied. "Give me it," Bankotsu demanded. He took the bottle that Suikotsu had in his hand and drank some sake. "Do you want some?" he asked Izayoi. "No thanks," Izayoi said._ "I can't believe he actually offered to share the sake with me!"_ Izayoi thought happily._ "Oh gosh. I'm over-reacting,"_ she added, mentally slapping herself. "Thanks!" Bankotsu said, throwing the empty bottle to Suikotsu. "Come on. Let's go," Bankotsu said, getting up. Izayoi got off his lap and hid behind him. "See ya later guys," Bankotsu told Suikotsu and Mukotsu. He led Izayoi by her hand. "Umm...where are we going?" she asked him. "For a walk." They walked together in a sweet silence. Izayoi thought it was a happy moment. Even thought they weren't talking, she was enjoying the fact that she was walking besides a river with a beautiful scenery with Bankotsu holding her hand. They stopped to rest near a waterfall. Izayoi finally broke the silence between them and spoke up like little timid girl,"So...why exactly did you bring me here?"

Bankotsu looked at her beautiful face. He smiled at the thought he had in mind for her. "Well, I thought that you might want to come here for a little swim." "Oh, really? Well, that was...awfully nice of you, Bankotsu. Thanks." Izayoi gave Bankotsu a warm smile. Izayoi started to undress herself with Bankotsu staring at her. She turned around and saw him looking at her. He then asked,"Do you need me to help you get undressed?" She glared at him with a face that clearly said 'WHAT?!'; Izayoi blushed deeply and she said in a angry way,"No, thanks I'm fine." Bankotsu looked away and said to himself out loud,"Well, I might as well go for a swim, too. My legs feels a bit of sore from walking." Bankotsu started to remove his armor and clothing. Izayoi decided to do the same thing he did: she watched Bankotsu remove his clothing. She stayed like that for a long while. He turned around and she saw that he had a clueless look on his face. "What? Do I have something on me?" Bankotsu kept gazing intently at her and she turn red from the face. "Oh! No."

Izayoi had nothing on, but her underwear and bra. She dipped her toes in the fresh water first before going in. She slowly let herself sink down and Izayoi felt her feet relaxing with the cool feeling of the water enveloping them. Bankotsu sneaked behind her and followed her underwater. He stared at her bra and, out of curiosity, pulled on it; it snapped on Izayoi's back. She turned and saw Bankotsu behind her. Then she swam up to the surface to catch some air. Bankotsu went up a while after Izayoi did. She was wiping away the water from her face. Once on the surface he swam to her and pulled on the bra again. Izayoi gasped and turned towards Bankotsu, sort of angry. "Why do you keep pulling my bra?!" "What's that?" She stared at him with a 'you're an idiot' look. She sighed and explained calmly,"This is what you call a bra and it stands for...uhh...Battle-Ready-Armor!" She started to laugh in her mind. _"Yeah right. You just totally made that up!"_ she told herself. "Really? So what you're saying it protects you?" Bankotsu said amazed.

_"She must be a warrior if she has that,"_ he thought. "Yeah, it protects my chest!" she said randomly. Bankotsu was even more amazed that Izayoi had 'armor' like that. "If it protects your chest, then how come it feels so soft?" Izayoi looked at Bankotsu and sensed that he was going to pull on her bra again. Then she covered her chest with her arm and slapped his hand away. Bankotsu backed away slightly and said,"Oww! What the hell did you do that for?" "You're pulling my bra." He looks at her and questioned,"What are you complaining about now? It's not like you're covering up anything." She had a shocked expression on her face as she heard his remark. _"Hello! My chest...my...you-know-what!" _she thought exasperately. "How dare you? I do have something to cover up!" "Oh, really? What?" "I have to cover up my--" she began to explain. "Why do I have to explain myself to you. It's not like you own me or anything!" _"Oh my god! What did I just say?"_ she thought surprised. Bankotsu looked at her in a funny way and said,"What? What were you gonna say?!" Izayoi began to blush while looking into his eyes.

He grabbed her wrist and pulled her toward him. "Tell me! What were you going to say?" She pulled away from him. "No!" She nearly fell and scraped her thigh on the sharp edge of a rock and started to bleed a little. Bankotsu looked at her and picked her up from the water, bridal-style. He carefully set her down on the grass. He took a look at the wound on her thigh. "You're hurt. I'll get you something to wrap around your wound." Bankotsu grabbed his kimono top and ripped a piece off. He walked back to her and picked up her leg and wrapped the piece of cloth around her leg. Izayoi blushed at the fact that Bankotsu was touching her thigh. She gazed at him as he mended her wound. He smiled at her happily and said,"That should do for now. Do you want to go home already?" Izayoi nodded happily and looked at his face as the sun was setting in the background. They went to go get their clothing. Bankotsu helped Izayoi put on her kimono; he didn't even think about putting on the top part of his kimono on. He had nothing but his hakama on. Izayoi stared at him and Bankotsu handed her his shirt. "Here. Hold this. I don't think you'll be able to walk back, so I'll carry you myself," he said.

"Okay...if you want," she said uncertainly. Bankotsu picked her up and carried her in his arms. She felt as if her emotions were swelling up inside her. She wrapped her arms around his neck. Izayoi looked up at his face and then down to his chest. She presses her face against it, feeling the warmth of his muscular chest and hearing his heart beat steadily. She smiled to herself. _"Wow, Bankotsu really has a nice chest. He's so warm!"_ With one arm still around his neck, she slowly rubbed her hand against his chest. He looks down to face her. "Why are you rubbing my chest? Are you feeling alright? Are you sure you don't have a fever?" "No. It's just that your chest is so soft. I just wanted to know what it felt. Like how you were touching my bra." "Hmmm...I guess that's fair enough." He looked away, but Izayoi still gazed at him then continued to rub his chest, thinking about nothing else, but him. _"Her hand...it's so soft and smooth. Even her body feels warm,"_ he thought to himself.

Bankotsu and Izayoi arrived at the castle. Bankotsu sat her down on the steps and he told her,"You can rest here while I'm gone." Izayoi glared at him and asks him,"Where are you going, Bankotsu?" "I'm gonna go train. I'll probably see you tomorrow." "Ok, then I see you later." Izayoi waved goodbye to him as he left her there on the steps. Hakudoshi came into picture and then looked at Bankotsu as he left. He smiled and thought about how to annoy Izayoi about her feelings towards Bankotsu.

He decided to bug her about what she did with him that day. "So...did you enjoy your little swim with Bankotsu?" Izayoi stayed quiet and started to talk shit about Hakudoshi in her mind. _"Leave, you fucking psycho!"_ Izayoi didn't bother to turn around to face him and asked him,"What the hell do you want? Why are you always spying on me?" Hakudoshi simply laughed at Izayoi's question as if he were amused. "No, I'm not spying.Why would I spy on a weak and pathetic girl such as yourself?" "Why are you interested in my personal life? It's not like you're jealous of Bankotsu or anything like that, are you?" Hakudoshi was silent and Izayoi waited for him to respond her. "Well, why don't you answer my question? What? Cat got your tongue!?" she mocked. He didn't know what to say so she said in a calm victorious tone,"I'm going to bed, now. Bye, freak of nature!" Izayoi left and went to her room to go sleep.


	5. Chapter 5

_Author's Note: In this chapter, my friend and I mention 3 Final Fantasy 7 characters. They will appear for almost the whole story. They're Izayoi's friends from the present. The Shinra Company was testing out their new time machine and they voluteered to test it out. That's how they ended up in the Feudal Era. My friend and I thought that Izayoi was likely to carry a cellphone, camera, and some other stuff that people nowadays tend carry at all times. Izayoi will eventuall meet up with her mother in later chapters. And yes, Hakudoshi is jealous of the fact that Izayoi and Bankotsu are so close._ :D

_**Chapter 5**_

The next morning, Izayoi woke up feeling a bit lazy. She snatched her pillow and was thinking about Bankotsu. About the time when she got hurt and he carried her all the way back in his arms as if she was a helpless little girl that had been abandoned. Izayoi hugged her pillow and whispered to herself,"I wish Bankotsu was here. He always makes everything better." Then, there was a knock on the doorframe and Izayoi asked,"Who is it?" The voice responded,"It's me, Bankotsu. I was just wondering if you wanted to eat breakfast with me before I go off training!" From the other side of the screen, Bankotsu waited for her to answer.

"Yeah, that sounds great! Oh, could you give me some time to get ready?" "Sure, I guess." Izayoi put on a pink kimono with purple flower designs and picks up her hair in a bun of some sort with a spiraly detail. Izayoi wore some silver hoop earrings and a simple silver necklace around her neck. She sprayed on some 'Paris Hilton' perfume. She smiled as she looked at herself in the mirror. _"I look pretty damn good, but...I feel as if something is missing. Oh, right: some lip gloss, eye shadow and some eyeliner."_ Izayoi was so excited to see the look on Bankotsu's face when he saw that she fixed herself up just for him. "I can just imagine the look on Bankotsu's face."

Izayoi sighed with pleasure and thought about how Bankotsu would react towards Izayoi with her feminine charms. She knew that Bankotsu would fall for her immediately. After she fixed up a few more details, she stepped outside, where she saw Bankotsu sitting down waiting for her. "Sorry about the wait!" she apologized. "About time. What took you so lo--" he began to say. He cut his sentence short as he saw how beautiful Izayoi looked. "You look...great!" Bankotsu said, still looking her up and down. "Thanks! So should we go?" "Yeah." They walked down the hall before Bankotsu said suddenly,"What's that scent?" "What scent? Oh, that must be me!" Izayoi said, remembering that she was wearing perfume. "Really?" Bankotsu went up to her and sniffed her neck. "It is you! Wow, you smell so nice," he complimented. Izayoi giggled as he continued to take in the aroma of the perfume.

Hakudoshi was walking down the same hallway, but came to a stop when he saw that Bankotsu had Izayoi pinned to the wall. He glared angrily at them and left the other way. "Stop, Bankotsu!" Izayoi laughed. "Fine. Let's go then," Bankotsu said taking Izayoi's hand. They went to the same room Izayoi had eaten in the previous day where Kohaku was eating. The table was full of delicious meals. She and Bankotsu sat down to join Kohaku. "Hey! How have you been Kohaku?" Izayoi asked. "Fine," he replied. They all ate in silence for a while until Bankotsu said,"You have something on your nose, Izayoi." "What. It's not a pimple is it?" she worried. "No it's this." Bankotsu threw some rice at her. She gasped and said,"Oh, yeah?" She threw her whole bowl at him. He threw a pastry at Kohaku. Kohaku grinned and threw pieces of fish at Bankotsu. Then the three of them threw food at each other at the same time. Kagura came in and said,"What's going on in here?"

"Food fight! You wanna join?" Izayoi asked. "Uhhh...sure I guess." Bankotsu and Izayoi threw whatever they could at her. Then she got in the mood and join in. There was total chaos. Servants were covering themselves with trays and some were trying to clean up the mess. Izayoi and Kagura were using the over-turned table as cover when Izayoi saw Hakudoshi came through the doorway. Instinctively, Izayoi picked up a plate full of fish and threw at him. It hit him on the side of his face. Kagura, Izayoi and the others laughed as the fish dripped off his hair. Furious, he left without a word. Shortly after he left, Izayoi ordered the food fight to stop. Everyone had a fun time, even Kagura. Bankotsu left to go train after saying goodbye to Izayoi. Kohaku just left somewhere. Izayoi thought_,"Well since now I'm all dirty, better go take a bath."_ She asked a servant to lead her to a bathroom. After chilling in the bathtub for 10 minutes, she thought,"What am I gonna do today? Bankotsu has to train so who do I hang out with today?"

Afterwords, she got dressed once more and went off to look for her father. She had made up her mind about spending time to know him. She thought that she might have been able to ask him about her mother. To Izayoi's surprise, she managed to find his room. Before she could knock, she heard him say,"Come in, Izayoi." She slid the screen open and entered. By the looks of it, it looked like Naraku was going somewhere. He had just finished putting on his kimono top. Izayoi walked over and said,"I've been meaning to ask you something for a while." "What is it?" "Ummm...I would like to know more about...my mother," she said, unsure whether he would reply. He remained silent for a moment and Izayoi wondered if she had gotten him mad. Naraku looked away before saying,"Your mother was a dead priestess." "Dead priestess? If she was dead, how did she manage to have me?" Izayoi asked confused. "You wouldn't understand," Naraku ended abruptly.

"Well what was her name?" Izayoi felt as if she was pushing her luck too much. "Her name is of no importance," he replied. "Ummm, if I may ask, where are you going?" "To take care of some business," he said shortly. Izayoi was left with the feeling that he didn't want her to know something. Before he left and when his back was turned to her, she stuck out her tongue at him. "I'll find out eventually!" she whispered to herself. She walked to the pond in the garden and sat down, sighing with boredom. She took out her cellphone and messed around with it for a bit before putting it back. _"It sure is boring without Bankotsu!" _she thought. It was weird that for some reason Bankotsu attracted her more than she had ever been attracted by anyone else. Could it possibly be that she really was 'in love'. She remembered special moments with him: the swim, going horseback riding, and the food fight. Izayoi stared at the fish swimming in the pond for a while. All in all, being here wasn't so bad after all, even if she wasn't able to talk to her friends. The only major problem was Hakudoshi. He seem to do whatever he could to make her miserable.

Maybe if he hadn't been such a jerk the first time they met, Izayoi might have been able to at least get along with him. Suddenly, she recalled having her camera in her purse. She went inside to her room. She brought it out and turned it on. Izayoi scrolled through the crazy pictures she had taken with her friends. She had taken a picture of Reno pretending to strip on a table at her birthday party. Reno. He was the really funny guy at school. There was also Elena, one of Izayoi's friends. She could be silly at times but could be serious whenever there was a problem. She was an expert on fashion and loved clothing and styling hair. There was a picture Izayoi had taken with Itzsuna, another one of her best friends. She was silly and random. Izayoi always had the feeling that she liked Reno, but Itzsuna never said anything about it. She was the accessory-loving person. She loved necklaces, rings, and so on. And there was also Tseng and Rude. Tseng was a handsome guy that Elena liked a lot and Rude was a silent guy, friends with Reno.

This little group of people were junior Turks. They were still training, but Izayoi remembered that they were going to graduate a couple of days from her birthday. That meant that they had already graduated the previous day. Izayoi wished she could have been there to congratulate them. There were other friends there, too. Tifa, a martial arts loving girl, was there sitting with Kaori, a girl that had her hair a different color every month. Aerith was standing with her boyfriend Zack in another picture. Alex, Robert, and Josh were doing crazy poses in another picture. Samyra was dancing with Deomar. And there were many other pictures of lots of people. Zulema was pretending to do a lapdance for Cory. Victor and Anaira were hugging each other. Izayoi smiled as she looked at the memories of her friends. She spent well over an hour just looking at them. She put the camera back and saw a note inside the purse. She opened it and saw that it was from Jose asking for Izayoi to tell Elena if she would like to go out with him. She rummaged through her purse and saw that she had her iPod and PSP with her. "Well, I've got nothing better to do," she said. She turned on her PSP and started to play different games. By the time she knew it, 3 hours had already passed by. She took out her cellphone and saw that it was 4:30.

She put the PSP back in her purse. _"I wonder if Bankotsu's still training,"_ Izayoi thought as she put her bag back in the corner and went to go walk around the castle. She saw Kohaku standing in the hall. She went up to him to greet him. "Hi, Kohaku! That food fight was fun, wasn't it?" He turned around and saw Izayoi behind him. He gave her a small smile. "Yeah! I hadn't had that much fun in a long time." "Glad you enjoyed it!" Izayoi said. "Well, bye. I'm going to go see what I can do to pass the time." She waved at him and walked off. She looked back at Kohaku and wondered why he looked so gloomy most of the time. Izayoi was staring back at him so intently that she literally bumped into the person she hated the most. Hakudoshi and Izayoi both stumbled and fell. Izayoi was laying on across his stomach and he was flat on his back. "Well, well Izayoi. Do you mind getting off me?" he said in a sinister way. "What? Did you think I fell on you on purpose?! In your dreams!" she retorted. She got up and was about to leave when he asked,"Why are you not with your beloved Bankotsu? Did he leave you for another woman?" "For your information, he is training. And why would I care if he has a woman. I don't love him!" Izayoi was furious that Hakudoshi was pissing her off yet again. Then, she began to worry.

_"What if Bankotsu **does** have another woman. He is a mercenary after all. He's bound to be with lots of other women."_ "Of course he's with other women. He's just toying with your feelings," Hakudoshi spoke in a phony concerned way. "No one asked you!" Izayoi spat angrily at him. "I'm merely telling you the truth. I wouldn't want for you to get your heart broken," Hakudoshi said in the same tone of voice he used before. "Especially not by a human unworthy of you." He stalked off without further a do. Izayoi glared furiously at him until she couldn't see him anymore. She wanted to know why he always mocked her so much. Izayoi walked away and tried not to think about Hakudoshi and more on other things like what she was going to do for the rest of the day. _"Maybe...I should go and hang out with Kagura. I might be able to get some answers from her about Naraku and my mom, not to mention some other things."_ Izayoi looked around the hallway and in rooms in search of Kagura. She went out to the porch where she saw Kagura leaning against the balcony. "Hi Kagura." She turned around and saw Izayoi move beside her. "Do you think I can hang out with you for a while.

There's nothing else to do around here," Izayoi asked looking up towards the sky. "Yeah, I know what you mean. This place gets pretty boring," Kagura replied. "Hey, I was wondering if I could ask you something." Kagura looked at Izayoi and responded,"About what?" Izayoi sighed. "I was wondering if you knew anything about my mother. I tried asking Naraku but he didn't want to go into details." Kagura was silent for a moment. "I don't know much about her or her relationship with Naraku. All I know is that she was a beautiful priestess." "Do you know what her name was?" Izayoi questioned, extremely curious. "Her name was Kikyo." "Kikyo...that's a pretty name," Izayoi said, more to herself than to Kagura. "Umm...how did she die?" Kagura was silent for a few more moments before replying,"The hanyou Inuyasha killed her." "Inuyasha?" Izayoi asked. "He was Kikyo's lover. You see, she protected the Shikon Jewel and well, that's why he killed her. To get the jewel for himself so he could become a full demon." "The Shikon...Jewel?" Izayoi asked, processing all of this information. "It's a jewel that holds immense power," Kagura explained. "However," she continued.

"I do not know all of the details. The only one who knows everything about it is Naraku." "He doesn't tell you anything?" Izayoi questioned, thirsty for more information. "He doesn't trust me like he does to his other incarnations. You see, he holds my heart and if I betray him...he will crush it and I will die," Kagura confessed quietly. "How can he have your **heart**?" Izayoi asked. Now all of this information was confusing her. Inuyasha? Shikon Jewel? Incarnations? She was beginning to regret starting this conversation. "I'm not sure myself," Kagura said. "All of this is confusing me as well. Do you think we can change the subject?" "So you're...15, am I right?" "Yeah, why?" Izayoi asked, looking at a flock of birds fly in the distance. "Shouldn't you be married by now?" "What? No I shouldn't!" Izayoi said, surprised at Kagura's question. "Usually girls marry around your age." "Maybe here in this time. But back where I come from, it's not very common for a girl to be married at my age. They might get pregnant, but not married," Izayoi explained. "You mean they have children before marriage! Now that's not common here!" Kagura said amazed. "A lot of people don't even marry anymore. They might just live together or be single parents. But **I** would like to get married," Izayoi said. "Really? To who?"

Izayoi blushed and replied,"I would like to get married to--" "Bankotsu?" Izayoi turned around and saw Hakudoshi standing behind her and Kagura. "What do you want this time, Hakudoshi?" Izayoi snapped at him. He did not reply immediately. He was staring intensely at Izayoi. "I don't have much time for you, so spit it out!" Izayoi demanded, looking away. Hakudoshi glanced at Kagura before saying,"I was just saying that you would like to get married to Bankotsu, wouldn't you? I mean, you do love him." Izayoi couldn't think of a comeback. She knew that it was now obvious that she was in love with Bankotsu. Anyone could see that. There was no denying it anymore. "Just go away," Izayoi said in a calm, yet deadly tone of voice. "I seemed to have touched a nerve," Hakudoshi said maliciously. He laughed as he walked away.

Izayoi felt bad that she had surrendered to him for the first time. But he spoke the truth. She could not deny the fact that she was indeed deeply in love with Bankotsu. Then she remembered something that Hakudoshi had said earlier that day.**+"Of course he's with other women. He's just toying with your feelings."+** She felt a sharp sudden pain in her chest. It felt as if these words were crushing her heart. "Stupid Hakudoshi. Just ignore him. I feel like killing him in the most painful way imaginable," Kagura said, looking at him as he went away. "Guess I'll see you later then Kagura," Izayoi sighed. She walked to her room slowly, still thinking about Hakudoshi's words.

"Glad to see you're finally training again, brother," Jakotsu said. The Band of Seven was resting after a day-long training session. Bankotsu had removed his kimono top and was resting against a tree. "You know brother, you've changed," Suikotsu said. "What do you mean 'changed'?" Bankotsu asked. "I mean, ever since that girl arrived, you've been with her all the time." "I have to. I'm supposed to protect her," Bankotsu said. He was starting to get annoyed. "I need to get going. Izayoi's waiting for me." He got up and left before any of the others could further question him. "Big brother's in love with that girl, that's for sure," Jakotsu said. "And I never thought brother would actually fall in love with anyone."

Izayoi was in her room reading the note that she had forgotten to give to Elena. "Izayoi?" She turned around at the sound of the voice. She knew who it was! "Come in!" she said happily. She tucked the note back in her purse as Bankotsu entered the room. "Have you been training **all day**?!" When she turned and saw he only had hakama on, she just stared at him as he sat down in front of her. "Yeah. So what've you done all day?" "Oh, just hanging out with Kagura. Umm...you look like you could use a bath. You can use mine," Izayoi offered, seeing how tired and sweaty Bankotsu looked. "Hey, thanks!" he said getting up. "It's through here," Izayoi said, opening a screen door in her room. Once the bathtub was ready, she came back to her room. "Okay! It's ready!" Bankotsu closed the door to the bathroom. Izayoi felt pleased at the thought that Bankotsu had come back when he had finished training. She went out her room and ordered a nearby servant to bring her a bottle of sake.

Izayoi went back inside and walked over to the other side of the room. "Bankotsu! Do you want some sake?" she asked, pausing outside the door. "Yeah!" he replied. Izayoi stepped inside the bathroom. "Here," she said, handing him the bottle of sake. As Izayoi watched him drink, she gazed at him, wishing she could be in the bathtub with him. She stepped out and went to go find a servant. She was about to enter a room when she saw Hakudoshi was in there talking to someone Izayoi couldn't see. She didn't really care what Hakudoshi did, so she ignored him and found a servant in another room. "Can you get me some clothing for Bankotsu?" she asked a middle-aged man. "Of course, my Lady!" She went back to her room and saw that Bankotsu was already getting out of the bathtub. "I got you some extra clothes, Bankotsu," Izayoi said.

"Okay." She opened the door slightly and gave him the clothing. She opened her phone and checked to see if she had any messages, but she didn't. She thought maybe Reno had already told everyone that she was away. Izayoi heard the door slide open. "Are you going already?" Izayoi asked Bankotsu. She didn't want him to leave. She had been hoping that he could stay the night. "I have to," he said. "Do you **really** have to? Can't you stay the night?" Izayoi half begged. "Well, I don't **have** to. I guess I **can** stay here for the night," Bankotsu said, rubbing the back of his head. "You look like you could use some sleep," Izayoi continued. She led him to her bed. "Just get some rest," she said. "Where are you gonna sleep, then?" Bankotsu asked. "I said: Just get some rest!" Izayoi said as she pounced on top of him and onto the bed. Bankotsu and Izayoi were both laughing for a while.

Izayoi got off him and went to the bathroom to change. As she changed into comfortable sleeping garments, she was thinking about the fact that she would be able to spend the night wtih Bankotsu. After letting her hair down and turning her phone off, Izayoi went back to the room. She saw Bankotsu laying on the bed, gazing at the ceiling. Izayoi went over to her bed and flopped down on it. She hugged one of her pillows and turned to face Bankotsu. He felt her looking at him so he turned around and asked,"What wrong?" "Nothing. I'm just tired," Izayoi replied. She had barely noticed how dark the room was. It sucked having no electricity around. Since there was no T.V. or computer here, Izayoi had to resign to the fact of going to sleep once it got dark. She yawned and pulled the covers up her and Bankotsu.

"Well, good night," Izayoi said to Bankotsu. "Good night," he replied. Izayoi laid on the bed for a long time wondering about everything that had happened to her since she arrived here. She thought if there was any possibility that she and Bankotsu would ever go out. Bankotsu had to be around 18. That meant they were three years apart, which wasn't so bad. Izayoi turned to look at him. He had already fallen asleep. She sat up and suddenly found herself looking intensely at him as he slept. _"He looks so cute asleep!"_ she thought. She gently began to caress his face. Izayoi leaned forward to kiss his cheek, before laying down with her face resting on his chest. She felt his long, silky hair flow freely around both of them. Izayoi was amazed that he had such a deep sleep. As she lay with him, Bankotsu embraced her in his sleep. Finally, sleep began to win over her and soon she was asleep wrapped in the arms of the man she loved.


	6. Chapter 6

_Author's Note: Izayoi's friends finally made their appearance! We kind of base them on our own friends. Also, I think Hakudoshi can read minds, can't he? I mean, he knows what Kagura is saying about him in the anime. Oh and my friend and I are thinking of making a sequel to this story, but we don't know what the main problem should be. If you have any suggestions, send them in a review, please!_

_**Chapter 6**_

The next morning, Izayoi awoke early, feeling as though last night's sleep was the best she had ever had. Her and Bankotsu were still cuddled together. She didn't want him to think that she had hugged him on purpose, so she pretended to be asleep in case he woke up. However, she couldn't resist staying still, not when he was so close to her. She kissed his cheek as she had done the previous night. He began to stir as he felt her kiss. Immediately, Izayoi pretended to be asleep. She felt him move and knew that he was already awake. The first thing Bankotsu noticed was that she was hugging him. He didn't want to wake her up, so he just stayed in the bed. He wrapped his arms around Izayoi and slowly began to stroke her hair and then her back.

Izayoi smiled to herself. She loved it when Bankotsu stroked her hair. She decided to 'pretend' to wake up. "Good morning," she said, still laying on him. She could hear his heart beat and felt his hand on her lower back. "Did you sleep well?" he asked, letting go of her. "Yeah," she yawned. Izayoi smiled at Bankotsu. She felt his body warmth, not to mention his arms around her waist. "Hey, do you want some breakfast?" Bankotsu asked out of the blue. "Uhh...that sounds great!" He got out of bed and walked towards the door. He looked outside of the room to see if there were any servants around. Luckily, there was a woman passing by the hallway. Bankotsu called out to her, asking her to bring some breakfast. The woman hurried down the hallway. "Bankotsu, what you up to?" Izayoi looked at him curiously. He turned to face her while he closed the door. From a far distance down the hallway, Hakudoshi had happened to see Bankotsu at Izayoi's door before he went inside. By his thoughts, he figured out that he had slept over with Izayoi, in the same bed. Hakudoshi narrowed his eyes at the thought of Bankotsu sleeping in the same bed as Izayoi.

He then left with his mind full of thoughts of his own. Back in Izayoi's room, Bankotsu spoke to her,"Oh, I'm just sending up breakfast for you that's all." Izayoi looked at him and smiled a bit. Then, she heard a soft knock. Bankotsu went over to open it. A woman came in carrying a breakfast tray. "Oh, here you go! Enjoy!" With that the servant girl left the room and Izayoi looked at Bankotsu then smiled. "That's very thoughtful of you! I never thought that a mercenary like you was this nice. Thanks, Bankotsu!" Izayoi started to eat as soon as he laid the tray of food in front of her. Bankotsu stared at her for a long time. Izayoi stopped for a minute and turned to look up at him. "You don't want to eat some breakfast?" Bankotsu replied as he watched her gazed back at him like in some sort of trance, "No thanks." _"**Why** is he staring at me while I'm eating? I hate it when people do that!"_ "Bankotsu, come on! You have to eat something. Breakfast is the most important meal of the day!"

Izayoi begged him to eat, fully aware of the fact that he didn't like to be told what to do. "Here, you can have some of my strawberries!" **(Author's Note: I couldn't think of any other food!)**Bankotsu shook his head and turned away. Izayoi got sort of angry. She pick up a strawberry and said in a sweet voice,"Bankotsu?" Her plan had worked. He turned around when he heard her voice call out his name in a sweet way. "What is it?" Izayoi went up to him making him think that she was going to kiss him. Then she crammed the strawberry in his mouth when he least suspected it. "I said you have to eat!" she laughed. Bankotsu ate the strawberry she had stuffed in his mouth. "Fine. I'll eat something," he said, surrendering. "Okay! I'm gonna go take a quick bath. When I come back there better not be anything left on that tray!" Izayoi said, giggling a little. She went into the bathroom, took a quick bath, and got ready. When she came out, Izayoi saw that Bankotsu had eaten some more. She pretended to be angry and said,"I thought I had said that I wanted to see the tray empty!" "Hey at least I ate something!" he said, getting up from the bed. Izayoi laughed. "Okay! Once you take a bath, I'll met you outside." "I just took a bath last night!" Bankotsu complained. "That doesn't matter. The water won't hurt you! I never thought a tough guy like you was afraid of taking a bath," Izayoi mocked.

"I'm not afraid of water," he snapped. To prove it to her, he went to the bath and shut the door behind him. Izayoi went outside and stood on the porch. That morning was turning out to be fun. She was so happy that Bankotsu had spend the night with her. Suddenly she felt someone wrap their arms around her waist and pull her closer them. Whoever it was began to stroke her hair. Suddenly, she felt the person's hand move down her curve. Then, she felt the person gently kiss her cheek first then slowly moved down to kiss and nibble her neck. "Bankotsu?" she asked quietly. She closed her eyes and felt the person's lips meet hers**.(Author's Note: Izayoi's _thinks_ that this is Bankotsu**!) Izayoi felt their hands slide further down her back and quivered excitedly. She pressed into the person's lips and kissed them passionately. She felt their tongue slip into her mouth and welcomed it warmly. Then, whoever it was reluctantly ended the kiss and Izayoi heard a soft laugh. "You fell for it." She knew that voice! She opened her eyes and gasped,"Hakudoshi!" "Surprised? You thought it was him didn't you?" he asked. "Bankotsu doesn't know what he's missing. He should treat you as the delicate flower you are." He lifted her chin up and added,"He has no idea how deliciously sweet you taste." She pulled away from him. "What the hell is your problem?!" she angrily said. "So, Bankotsu spent the night with you, didn't he?" he teased. "Why do you care? Do you have a problem with that?"

"Well, Bankotsu was supposed to protect you. Not snuggle in with you at night," he replied looking at her with a strange look in his light lavender eyes. "Anyway, I've been meaning to ask you something." Izayoi wasn't looking at him and asked,"What?!" She was furious not only at him, but at herself. She hadn't realized that it was Hakudoshi that was caressing her, not Bankotsu. She was angry that she had let herself get touched and kissed by the person she hated the most. "I don't understand why Naraku had a child with that dead priestess he supposedly hated," Hakudoshi said. "What?! How dare you?!" Izayoi said furiously. "What? Did the daughter of the dead priestess and a hanyou get offended?" he mocked. Hakudoshi smiled as he saw that he was getting Izayoi more furious by the minute. "You'll pay for that! You wouldn't even be alive it it weren't for my father!" she yelled, seething with anger.

_"Did I just call Naraku my father?"_ she thought, surprised. "You're not used to calling him father?" Izayoi looked at him, enraged and thought_,"I wish I could KILL this guy!"_ "Go ahead and try. It won't work anyway," Hakudoshi teased her. "Get out of my mind you freak!" Bankotsu was coming down the hall when he heard commotion coming from outside. He went out and saw Izayoi glaring fiercely at Hakudoshi. He went over to defend her. "What's going on here? Is this guy telling you anything?" Izayoi grabbed Bankotsu's arm and nodded. "You bastard! You'd better leave her alone or I won't hesitate to kill you!" he threatened. "Don't tell me you're defending your love?" Hakudoshi smirked. "I don't love her. I protect her. You just stay away from her!" Bankotsu retorted. Izayoi felt bad when she heard Bankotsu say that he didn't love her, especially when it was obvious that he did. Hakudoshi laughed and said,"I'll leave you two lovers alone." Bankotsu yelled,"Come back here! I'm not done with you yet!" Hakudoshi ignored him and walked back inside. Before he left, however, he said,"Naraku won't be pleased if he hears about this." Bankotsu remained where he was, glaring until Hakudoshi had left.

"Uhhh...do you wanna go somewhere?" he asked Izayoi, steering the conversation away from what had just happened. "Yeah," Izayoi said sadly. "Hey, don't listen to whatever crap he says, okay?" She nodded and walked behind him all the way until they reached a meadow. She looked up and saw a person up ahead. As she came closer, she noticed that whoever it was had bright, flaming red hair. "Reno?" she half questioned herself. "Hey, is that you Izayoi?!" the person spoke in a loud voice. It was him! "Reno!!" "Izayoi!!" They both ran over to each other and hugged each other tightly. "Hey, what's up girl! Haven't seen ya in a whole freaking week!" Reno said, as they broke the hug. "It's a long story," Izayoi said.

She felt happiness swell up inside her as she saw one of her friends for the first time in what seemed like ages. "What the hell are you doing here!"Izayoi asked. "Well...Shinra had been experimenting with time travel and me and the gang 'volunteered' to test it out. And we're kind of stuck here." "The gang? You mean Tseng, Rude, Elena, and Itzsuna?" "Yup! They're all here too!" "Are you serious? Awww man, where are they?" "There back at camp," Reno said, pointing back with his thumb. "Hey, who's that?" Izayoi looked back and saw Bankotsu walking towards her. "Oh! He's Bankotsu. He's my bodyguard!" Izayoi explained. "You have a bodyguard?" Izayoi heard the voice of her friend Elena.

"Oh my god! I can't believe you guys are all here!" Izayoi said happily. "Hi, Izayoi! I was kind of worried that I hadn't heard from you. You hadn't texted me or been on MySpace!" Itzsuna said. "So you decided to follow Reno here, huh?" "Well, you know him. He's likely to get trouble where ever he goes," Itzsuna explained. "Hey, who's that hottie?" she added. "Oh that's Bankotsu, my bodyguard," Izayoi explained. "And we like each other!" she said, before Itzsuna could say anything else. "Ooooo...so he's your boyfriend?" Elena asked. "Kind of. We just haven't said how we feel. But it's so obvious, you know what I mean?" Izayoi said, looking at Bankotsu. "You have good taste. You should tell him that you like him!" Itzsuna said. Bankotsu came up to Izayoi and asked,"Do you know these guys?" "Yeah! They're the friends I told you about," Izayoi said. "So how have you been Tseng? Rude?" "Fine," they both said simultaneously. "You're still as boring as ever!" she said smiling at them.

"But I'm glad you guys are all here! Group hug!!" Izayoi, Elena, Itzsuna, and Reno hugged each other. Tseng and Rude were annoyed. Bankotsu was just confused. "You should come visit later on!" Reno said. "That way you'll be able to tell us everything. And we'll be able to talk about your awesome party!" "Oh, right! How could I ever forget?" Izayoi said. "Remember when I was pretending to be a stripper and Itzsuna was getting turned on?" he asked laughing. "WHAT?! No I wasn't!" Itzsuna said, outraged. "I love you, Reno!" Izayoi said, hugging him and kissing him on the cheek. "We'll see ya later. Our camp is a few minutes away from here! Come by whenever you can!" Elena said, as they walked back to camp. Izayoi waved at them and then turned to face Bankotsu. "What's wrong?" she asked. "Nothing," he said.

"Are you mad because I hugged Reno? Don't tell me you're jealous!" Izayoi asked. "Me? Bankotsu, leader of the Band of Seven, jealous of that red headed kid? Oh, please! He makes Jakotsu look straight!" Izayoi walked in front of him and hugged him. He blushed and hugged her as well. "Don't worry. I love you, too!" she said. She felt his hand slide further down her back. She grabbed his hand and moved it up. "As a friend," she added. Bankotsu was a little mad that she didn't let him go further down but didn't complain, seeing that she was still hugging him. "You protect me. And that's why I love you!" Izayoi said, kissing him on the forehead. "Can you leave me at their camp?" "Are you sure you want to go?" he asked, still blushing. "Yeah! That way you can hang out with your friends for a while!" she said. "Okay...I guess." They walked away to the camp.

Meanwhile, Hakudoshi was heading back to the castle. He had decided to follow Izayoi and Bankotsu to see if he could find out what they really did when they were together. He saw Izayoi and Bankotsu hugging and had also heard Izayoi tell Bankotsu that she loved him. After that, he had left. He was furious and was trying to think of a way to prevent this relationship from getting 'serious'. Suddenly he stopped as he reached the castle gates. He smiled to himself as he thought of what he had in store for Izayoi.

"Alright then. I'll see you later!" Bankotsu said. He walked off, leaving Izayoi at camp. She went over to Elena and told her,"Hey how are you guys living here without technology?" "Oh, we have a kind of...generator or something like that. That provides us with electricity for our equipment. I don't even know how it works. I'm no scientist! They gave us two laptops so we can try to communicate if anything happened. But we haven't managed to contact Shinra. Somehow, the Internet works though. That's how we can talk to other people from school," Elena explained. "You mean I can charge my phone and my iPod?" Izayoi asked. "Yup! And I brought my straightener and other girl 'survival equipment'," Elena said giggling. "By the way, do you want me to straighten you hair?"

"Yeah! I've been meaning to do that for a while! Oh, and can you lend me some clothes that can 'compliment' my form? I wanna look good for Bankotsu when he comes back!" Izayoi asked, blushing a bit. "You're blushing!" Elena teased. "So tell me. How did you get here?" Izayoi sighed and began to explain. "I know you might not believe it. Even I didn't believe it at first. But that's the whole story," Izayoi ended. "Geee! That's all sounds complicated," Elena said, straightening Izayoi's hair. "Can you do me a favor and tell everyone else this? It'll save me time," Izayoi asked, looking in the mirror as Elena brushed her hair. "Sure! There we go! All done!" she replied. She went into her tent and brought out some pants and a spaghetti strap shirt. "Here, put these on." Izayoi went inside and changed.

When she came out again, she felt so comfortable in her 'modern' clothes. "Do you have body glitter?" she asked Elena. "Yeah," she said looking through one of her bags. "Here." Izayoi took the glitter and put some on her shoulders and part of her chest. "Where's Accessory Girl? I need to borrow some jewelry." "Did someone say 'accessories'?!" Itzsuna's voice came in. "Oh, I have this set of earrings and necklace that'll go perfectly with that hot pink shirt!" She brought out a set of really pretty, sparkly earrings and necklace. Izayoi put them on while Itzsuna said,"Here put these on!" She gave Izayoi some bracelets and a watch to finish off the look. "Well, how do I look? Do you think Bankotsu will like it?" Izayoi asked looking in front of the mirror. "He'll love it!" Itzsuna and Elena said. "Hey, Izayoi! Your bodyguard's here to pick you up!" Tseng said, coming in. "Hold on! Itzsuna, do you have any perfume?" Izayoi asked. Itzsuna brought out a bottle of Paris Hilton saying,"I've got plenty!" Izayoi sprayed some on. "Okay! Thanks! See ya later!" Izayoi said. "Tell us what happened later on," Elena yelled after her. "I will!" Izayoi yelled back, joining Bankotsu. He gaped at her for a long time before saying,"Wow! You look really beautiful!" "Thanks! Can you take me home?" Izayoi asked. "Sure," he replied.

Back at the castle, Hakudoshi was talking to Naraku about what he saw between Izayoi and Bankotsu. "If may suggest something, I think you should arrange a marriage with someone more...suitable than that specter. I mean she is old enough to be married," Hakudoshi said quietly. Naraku was listening to Hakudoshi intently. "I will not allow my daughter to do the same mistake that I did by falling in love with a human," he said, in his usual silky and dark voice. "Hakudoshi, I need you to find a demon worthy of my daughter. Then we can arrange a marriage." "Don't worry. I already know of someone. His name is Hakushi. I've spoken to him before. I think he will be a suitable husband for Izayoi," Hakudoshi said. "Bring him to me as soon as you can so I may speak with him," Naraku commanded. Hakudoshi nodded and smirked.

Izayoi and Bankotsu arrived at the castle. Bankotsu went to go get a drink of water inside the castle, while Izayoi went over to her favorite hangout: the pond. She sat down under a tree, watching birds fly by. "_Now that my friends are here, it won't be so bad anymore_," she thought, staring at a butterfly land on flower. She saw Bankotsu's reflection on the water and looked up. "Whatcha up to?" he asked sitting down beside her. "Oh, look Bankotsu! Isn't it beautiful?" Izayoi asked, pointing at the butterfly. "Not as beautiful as you," Bankotsu said quietly. "What?" Izayoi asked. She turned and Bankotsu gently lifted her chin up. "What are you doing?" she asked softly, getting lost in his eyes. "Something I should've done a long time ago," he replied. He moved closer and kissed Izayoi. Izayoi was shocked but quickly gave in to his kiss.

She wrapped her arms around his neck and deepened the kiss. Bankotsu placed his hands on her waist as Izayoi gently leaned against a rock. Izayoi was lost in his passionate kiss. She felt him move down to kiss her neck and felt her skin shiver pleasantly when he touched her arms. She was beginning to think that this moment would never come. His lips were so soft against hers. The two lovers let their tongues explore the other's. Izayoi felt an intense passion for Bankotsu at that moment. Then Bankotsu and Izayoi unwillingly broke apart. "Why did you kiss me?" she asked him quietly. "I couldn't help myself. You're so beautiful," he replied, caressing her face. "I love you," Izayoi whispered. "I love you, too," he said, gently kissing her lips. They sat up and Izayoi cuddled into him. He hugged her and they both sat together, watching the beautiful sunset.


	7. Chapter 7

_Author's Note: We don't like Kagome so Kagome fans...beware! Anyway, on with the story!!_

_**Chapter 7**_

The next morning, Izayoi awoke to find herself in her room. "Was it just a dream?" she asked herself. She glanced towards the mirror and saw that she was dressed exactly as she was the previous day. Suddenly there was a knock on her door. "My Lady, a friend of yours left this bag of clothing for you," a man's voice came from the outside. Izayoi got up and went to opened the door. The man gave her the bag and left. Izayoi opened it and saw that it had some of Elena's 'modern' clothes and some girl 'survival equipment' as Elena called it. Izayoi put the bag on her bed and went to go get ready for the day. After she took a bath, she looked through the bag and took out some mousse and gel that Elena had packed for her.

She put some into her hair, hoping that Bankotsu would like the sweet scent of apple. She picked out a pair of dark denim jeans and a simple black polka dotted shirt. Izayoi rummaged through the bag and saw a smaller bag that was from Itzsuna, the accessory girl. Izayoi picked out a pair of black and silver hoop earrings, a matching choker and bracelet, and a watch. She finished off the look with some black sandals and a belt. After quickly applying her usual makeup, she stepped outside to look for Bankotsu. Not spotting him, she took out her phone and called Elena. "Hello?" Elena's voice came out from the earpiece. "Hey Elena! I got your clothes. Just wanted to say thanks," Izayoi said. "Oh, sure. No problem! So what are you doing?" "Nothing," Izayoi said. "So you're telling me nothing happened between you and Bankotsu last night?" Elena asked. "Well, actually something did happen. Bankotsu kissed me last night! At least I think he did. It might have been a dream," Izayoi explained.

"What?! Oh my god! How was it?" Elena asked curiously. "Words cannot describe it, Elena!" Izayoi said in a dreamy way. "All I can say is that it felt as if I were in heaven!" "Oh-my-gosh! I wish that could happen with me!" she said, sighing. "You mean with you and Tseng?" Izayoi giggled. "Yes! I want to tell him, but I get nervous," Elena said. "It's normal," Izayoi said. "Anyway, I guess I'll be seeing you later, then, okay?" "Alright, then. Talk to ya later!" Elena said. Izayoi closed her phone just as Bankotsu came up from behind and hugged her saying,"How did my princess sleep last night?" Izayoi kissed him softly before replying,"Fine." "I was thinking of spending the day with my brothers? You wanna come with me?" he asked. "Umm...yeah. I'll be safer won't I? I mean now that it's 'official', if you know what I mean," Izayoi said nervously. "You'll always be safe with me!" Bankotsu said, holding her hand and walking off to the Band of Seven's usual hang out. "Hey, Jakotsu!" Bankotsu said. "Hi, Bankotsu!" Jakotsu waved. "Where's everyone else?" Bankotsu asked, putting an arm around Izayoi.

"I don't really know. They just left me here while I was asleep for a while," Jakotsu replied. "Alright then. I'm gonna go look for them. Izayoi, stay here, okay?" Bankotsu said. "Okay," Izayoi replied and her and Jakotsu stayed looking at Bankotsu as he walked off. "Jakotsu, do you want me to fix your hair so it can look really pretty?" Izayoi asked. Jakotsu turned around excitedly and clapping his hands together, asked,"Really? Sure! I'll do anything so I can look beautiful for my Inuyasha!" They sat down on the ground and Izayoi took out a brush, a clip, and some mousse. First she brushed Jakotsu's hair to get rid of the tangles before she applied the mousse. "What's that?" Jakotsu asked as Izayoi rubbed the mousse into his hair.

"It's to help style your hair. I use it all the time to make my hair seem wet," Izayoi explained. She twisted his hair and placed the clip to hold onto it. Then, she added more mousse to the ends to get a spiral effect to it. She finished off by brushing his bangs into place. Izayoi brought out her mirrorand gave it to Jakotsu saying,"Look! Do you like it?" "Oh, I love it!" Jakotsu said, examining himself in the mirror. "Thanks!" "Well, I wasn't able to find them anywhere!" Izayoi and Jakotsu saw Bankotsu walking up to them. He flopped onto the ground next to Izayoi. "I'll go look for them, there's nothing better to do around here anyways," Jakotsu said, getting up and walking off into a nearby forest. "So alone at last," Bankotsu said, hugging Izayoi. She reached up to kiss him as he placed a hand on her back. "Can I do your braid, Bankotsu?" Izayoi asked when they broke apart. "Huh? Why? Is my braid messed up?" "No, I just wanna!" Izayoi replied touching his face. "Okay I guess," Bankotsu said, letting his hair loose. Izayoi sat behind him and began to brush his hair. "You hair's so pretty and soft!" Izayoi complimented, rubbing her face against it._ "Okay_..." Bankotsu thought. "Oww!" he winced as Izayoi hit a tangle. "I'm sorry, Bankotsu!" Izayoi squealed. "It's okay. I've suffered worst." She finished brushing his hair and then braided it quickly. "There we go! All done!" Izayoi said in a sweet little girl voice.

A sudden gust of wind startled them as Kagura appeared. She looked as if she was out of breath. "Izayoi! Naraku wants you at the castle immediately! I'll be able to take you there!" Kagura said. Izayoi looked at Bankotsu and he replied,"Go before your father gets angry." Kagura threw one of the feathers in her hair into the air and, with another gust of wind, her and Izayoi were flying away on a feather. "I'll see you later, Izayoi!" Bankotsu yelled out. "Okay, bye!" Izayoi yelled back. "What does Naraku want?" Izayoi asked Kagura, worried that Hakudoshi had told on her. "Inuyasha appeared at the castle. He wants you to be there to make sure nothing happens to you," Kagura explained. "Wouldn't I be safer with Bankotsu, seeing that I'm far away from the battlefield?" Izayoi asked. "In a way, you would. But, if you're with him, you won't have any barrier to protect you," Kagura said as they approached the castle from the back so they wouldn't be spotted. They landed and Kagura said,"Go inside the castle. I have to go hold off Inuyasha." Izayoi was totally confused and went to go snoop around even though Kagura told her to stay inside.

She went over to a window overlooking the courtyard. Her father and a some guy wearing red were there. It looked as if they were talking, but Izayoi couldn't hear anything from this distance. Suddenly, she heard Kagura's voice cry out,"Dance of Blades!" They hit the guy in red and a girl that looked around Izayoi's age cried out,"Inuyasha!" "_So that's Inuyasha_!" Izayoi thought. She remembered what Kagura had told her about some guy named Inuyasha being responsible for her mother's death. She narrowed her eyes at the thought that he was in the castle, trying to kill her father this time. She saw Kagura attack a group that involved a monk, some other girl with a huge boomerang, and the girl that had called out to Inuyasha. Inuyasha turned around and yelled,"Kagome!" Unfortunately, the girl with the boomerang had protected her and the girl named Kagome was fine. "_She looks pretty useless! It seems that Inuyasha cares about her more than the others_," Izayoi thought to herself. "_If I'm able to kill that girl, I may be able to make Inuyasha suffer for killing my mother! It's a more wiser decision that going after Inuyasha himself. Yes, I think I'll be able to carry this out! She seems to be stupid seeing as she gets herself in danger, so I'll have noooo trouble at all."_

Izayoi had a plan in mind already as she walked down in the direction of the courtyard. She spotted the girl named Kagome a good distance away from everyone else. "_Damn, I'm so lucky to have taken Theater Arts in school_," Izayoi thought as she pretended to be wounded. She forced herself to shed tears as she stumbled to Kagome. "P-please...help...me," Izayoi stuttered as she collapsed to the floor. Kagome hurried to her, asking,"Are you okay? What happened to you?" "I've been trying...to...escape from here...for days. They've been...torturing me, asking...if I knew some...girl called...Kagome," Izayoi said, pretending to have a hard time breathing. "They must have thought you knew me, seeing that you look as if you come from my time," Kagome said, kneeling over to help her. Izayoi laughed softly.

"You really are a pathetic fool!" Izayoi said in a deadly whisper. "Wha--" Kagome began to say. Izayoi pierced through her heart with a dagger, causing Kagome to fall to the floor, blood pouring out of her mouth. "Kagome?" Inuyasha said, catching the scent of blood coming from behind him. He saw Kagome laying in a pool of her own blood and noticed Izayoi standing up, her arm covered in the same scarlet blood. "Kagome! You'll pay for this you wench!" Inuyasha said rushing towards her with the Tetsaiga firmly grasped in his hand. Izayoi had barely looked up when she saw her father in front of her. He placed a barrier around them both before Inuyasha had a chance to attack. Naraku laughed and said,"Inuyasha you are so easily distracted by the death of a mere woman." "You'll pay for this!" Inuyasha retorted.

"Good job, Izayoi. You have gotten rid of nuisance for me," Naraku told Izayoi in a quiet voice. Izayoi laughed evilly and told Inuyasha,"You and Kagome are so alike in the sense that you are both so easily fooled!" "I don't know who the hell you are, but I'm gonna cut you and Naraku into pieces for this!" he yelled at her. Kagura came into the battle and opened her fan and said,"You will have to face me, in order to get to them first!" Inuyasha was distracted by Kagura that by the time he looked up, Naraku and Izayoi were already leaving. "Come back here, Naraku! I'm not done with you. You'll pay for what you did to Kagome!" Inuyasha yelled at them.

Far away from the battlefield, Naraku and Izayoi were in his chambers. Izayoi felt rather proud of herself of killing that useless girl, Kagome. What did disappoint her was that she had ruined Elena's clothes with the wench's worthless blood. Izayoi sighed heavily,"_Oh, I ruined Elena's clothes! I'm sure she'll understand though_." Naraku looked at Izayoi with an evil smirk. He was proud of Izayoi and how she had tricked Kagome into believing that she was injured. "Izayoi, you managed to kill Kagome and for that, I'm very grateful." Izayoi grinned happily. "Well, I knew that stupid girl had to go. I noticed that she was just getting in the way." Naraku replied calmly,"Perhaps...anyway, I'm glad to say you are indeed my daughter."

Naraku came near Izayoi and gave her a slight hug that made her smile. She was glad that she was being recognized for her part in dispatching Kagome in front of Inuyasha. Then, a sudden thought hit her. "_Ha, they can't charge me with murder here! The Feudal Era rules just for this time only and not to mention because of Bankotsu!" _Izayoi released herself from Naraku's hug and said,"I'd better go clean up. I'll see you later." She walked out the room and thought to herself,"_Man, am I a mess! I hope this blood comes off!" _Down the other side of the hallway, Hakudoshi was passing through, apparently minding his own business. Hakudoshi came near her. She heard her heart pumping faster. She really didn't feel like arguing with him today. As soon as he came close enough, however, he grabbed her by the waist. He pulled her into an embrace and began to wipe off the blood that was trailing down her neck from her cheek.

Izayoi was paralyzed with shock and couldn't move. Hakudoshi spoke softly to her, as if an whisper. "I saw how you killed that girl. I'm impressed. I didn't know you had it in you." Izayoi tried to back away from Hakudoshi and he just pulled her closer to him. His forehead came in contact with hers. Izayoi looked at him with her eyes full of flames. She noticed a somewhat amorous look in his eyes. He pressed his lips onto hers. He quickly ended the kiss and smiled at her. "If you don't let go of me, I'll kill you this instant!" Izayoi was letting herself be hugged by Hakudoshi only because her body wouldn't obey her commands to move. Smiling with a vile look in his eyes, he said,"Just try to kill me. You're too weak to face me." Izayoi was struggling to free herself from Hakudoshi. "Release me at once!" she said in a whisper.

No matter what Izayoi did to free herself from Hakudoshi's grasp, he would tighten his grip on her. "You should wash off that human's scent. It smells awful." Izayoi was getting even angrier from what he had just said. Hakudoshi read her mind and corrected himself,"I didn't mean that you're awful, but the human blood on you." He looked down at her bloodstained clothing and said,"Oh, and you should change into something more loose and comfortable." Izayoi had a feeling that something was up with Hakudoshi. He wasn't acting like himself. "Since when do you care so much about me?" "I'm just use to seeing you in your other clothes," he said randomly as breathed down her neck. He pulled down her shirt sleeve to expose her bare shoulder, panting excitedly. He held her even tighter and closer to him than before. Slowly, he sank his fangs into her flesh, on the spot where her neck connected with her shoulder. She winced slightly. He gently licked off the droplets of blood oozing from the wound. Izayoi was beginning to feel dizzy and unsteady. Suddenly, everything grew dark as Izayoi fainted.

Later that same day, Izayoi woke up in her bed. She felt a soreness in her neck and glanced to the mirror. She saw the bite that Hakudoshi had made. "_Why the hell did he bite me_?" she thought. She got up from bed and nearly fell down. She still felt unsteady and dizzy. "_Just what did he do to me_?" Izayoi walked to the door and slid open the screen. As she stumbled out the doorway, she fell. "Izayoi! Are you okay?" Izayoi heard Kagura's voice come near her. She got up, covering the bitemarks on her neck with her hand. "I'm fine Kagura." "What happened? I saw how you killed Kagome," Kagura said. "I'm fine. Naraku just told me I did well. That's all. Oh, and I met Hakudoshi again," Izayoi explained. "Did he bother you again?" Kagura asked. "Well, he was acting kind of weird. The only reason I let myself was because my feet didn't want to move."

Izayoi looked down, rubbing her neck and said,"When I woke up right now, I felt really dizzy! He also bit me! I guess that's why I fainted." Izayoi removed her hand to show Kagura the bite on her neck. Kagura gasped and thought,"_He bit her on her neck? Then that can only mean_..." "It still kind of hurts," Izayoi said. "I think I might as well go to sleep since I still feel dizzy. Good night!" Izayoi walked back to her room and jumped on the bed, not even bothering to change. Back outside, Kagura was sitting on the roof, thinking about what Izayoi had told her just now. "_Hakudoshi bit her on the neck...that only means one thing_," Kagura thought. "_But __why would Hakudoshi want Izayoi as his mate_?_ She is pretty, but I thought he had no heart. Perhaps he only desires her body not her heart_." Kagura looked up and said to herself_,"I won't tell her this. This will only make her feel worse. I'll tell her only when I see that Hakudoshi does mean business."_

Miroku, Sango, Shippo, and Inuyasha were all mourning the loss of Kagome as they settled down for the night. "Inuyasha," Miroku said as they all sat near the fire. "What?" Inuyasha replied, his back turned to them. "Did you wonder why Naraku protected that girl from your attack?" "Isn't she one of Naraku's incarnations?" Shippo asked, wiping away his tears. "I don't think she is. Knowing Naraku, he wouldn't risk his life for an incarnation of his," Miroku replied. "So what is she then?" Sango asked, her eyes brimming with tears. "Hmm...I have a theory but I need more proof in order to see if it's true. "Who cares! She killed Kagome! And for that, she **will** pay!" Inuyasha said angrily, getting up and walking away. They all watched him go away. "Kagome's death must have really got to him," Sango whispered. "Of course! He loved her almost as much as he loved Kikyo," Miroku said. "We should all get some sleep. We'll be able to discuss this more in the morning," he added.

_Author's Note: We mentioned that Hakudoshi bit Izayoi on the neck because we've read in several fanfics that that's how demons mark their mates. Also, we know that Naraku is acting a bit soft, but, hey, even the evilest of people are bound to care for someone, right?_


	8. Chapter 8

_Author's Note: Thanks for your reviews Yuti-Chan and kittyb78! I'm glad someone likes my story! Once again I need to clarify a few things: I'm not sure if their is a Resident Evil game for PSP yet, but either way I just mentioned it in this chapter randomly (it's one of my favorite videogame series). Oh, and if you're a Kagome-fan, please forgive me for having Izayoi dispose of her in the previous chapter! I'm sorry!! It's just that I wanted to show that Izayoi had an evil Naraku-ish side to her! And also, some random people mentioned here are actually my friends that wanted to be mentioned in my story!_

_**Chapter 8**_

Izayoi was lying awake in bed late the following morning. The dizziness had gone away. She shook her head and then noticed that she was still in her bloodstained clothes. She got up and went directly to go take a bath. The warm water felt soothing against the bite on her neck, which was still a little sore. She washed off the dried blood from her skin and hair and then relaxed. Izayoi thought about spending the day with her new boyfriend Bankotsu. She got out a while later and picked out a pretty lilac kimono. She thought about spending the day relaxing at home, maybe having another conversation with Naraku or Kagura. Of course, she still wanted to look nice enough for Bankotsu, so she still fixed herself up a little bit just in case.

She applied some mousse on her hair and decided to leave it loose. Izayoi picked out some jewelry and sprayed some bodyspray on herself. After that, she left to the kitchen to get something to eat. As soon as she stepped in the kitchen, a elderly woman came in and said,"What would you like for breakfast, my lady?" "Oh, just a couple of pastries and tea." The woman bowed and left. Izayoi heard the screen slide open and turned to see Naraku come in. "Oh, good morning," Izayoi said as Naraku sat beside her. The woman came back with Izayoi's order. "May I get you anything, my lord?" she asked Naraku nervously. He shook her head, giving her a look that apparently scared the woman away.

"You're not gonna eat anything?" Izayoi said finishing the first pastry. "I'm not hungry," he replied. Izayoi sipped some tea. "When did Inuyasha leave?" "I'm not sure. I left Kagura to deal with him. She should know what happened when he left." Izayoi ate her last pastry and snuggled next to him like a puppy. He looked at her curiously and put an arm around her shoulders. Izayoi drank the last of her tea and said,"I guess I'll go outside for a while." He removed his arm off her shoulders and Izayoi left out to the garden. She paused outside to sit on a rock and picked out a beautiful lily. She looked up when she heard Hakudoshi's voice say,"Well, Hakushi, as I said Naraku would like to speak to you about a favor he would like for you to do for him." Hakudoshi was talking to a cute looking guy that Izayoi assumed to be Hakushi. He appeared to be a demon and looked like a nice guy. He had medium length red hair with bright, green eyes.

"Do you have any idea as to what he wants from me?" he asked. "I do, but let him tell you himself," Hakudoshi said leading him inside._ "I wonder what business Dad has for him,"_ Izayoi thought to herself. _"Why should I care?! It has nothing to do with me anyway!"_ "Izayoi!" She turned around and saw Bankotsu coming towards her. She got off the rock and ran over to hug him. She kissed him as he wrapped his arms around her waist. "Do you wanna do something today?" he asked her as they broke apart. "Actually I was thinking of just relaxing today. So you wanna go to my room?" she asked still hugging him. "Alright, then." Izayoi led him to her room holding his hand. Once in her room, Bankotsu flopped onto the bed. She snuggled on his chest and caressed his face. "Is it true you killed that Kagome girl yesterday?" Bankotsu asked her as he rubbed her arm.

"Did Kagura tell you that?" Izayoi asked. "Yeah. Well did you?" "Yeah, I did. And Naraku was happy about it," she replied. "Wow! I never thought a girl as sweet and innocent looking as you would actually be able to kill someone," he said. "Well anyone can kill someone. It's just that not everyone has the guts to do it," Izayoi said. She rolled onto him and kissed him. "_Mine! All mine_!" Izayoi thought to herself as she lost herself in his kiss once more. "You smell nice," Bankotsu said randomly. "It's 'sweet pea' scent!" she replied. He kissed her once again.

She loved having these little moments with him. Bankotsu was the only one that made being in this era worth the time. He was everything she liked in a guy.

Izayoi then felt Bankotsu move his hands towards her waist. Feeling a tickling sensation, Izayoi giggled. Just his mere touch made her laugh. "Oh, Bankotsu! Stop!" Bankotsu smirked 'evilly', and started tickling her some more, making Izayoi laugh even harder. "You like that, don't you? You know you do!" Bankotsu smiled at the fact that Izayoi was laughing so beautifully. He could almost consider her as a celestial maiden from the heavens."Hey, why are you having all the fun? I should have fun too!" Izayoi placed her hands on his tummy and gave him a piece of his own medicine.

He laughed as Izayoi tickled him. However, he began to tickle her harder. Izayoi finally released him and curled up into a little ball as she laughed. Bankotsu, beside her, was laughing as well. "This is gonna be a long day," Izayoi replied, ceasing her laughter slowly. "Do you wanna play on my PSP?" she asked. "PSP?" "You can play games on it. Look I'll show you!" Izayoi got off the bed and went to get her purse and sat back down. "What's in there?" Bankotsu asked curiously. "Just some things I brought from home," Izayoi replied. She took out her iPod, camera, and her PSP.

Bankotsu was just sitting there, looking at what Izayoi had taken out. She decided to show him her iPod first. "This is an iPod. You can listen to music with this," Izayoi explained, unwinding the headphones. She handed one of the headphones to Bankotsu. He took it, looking clueless. She took it from him and placed it in his ear saying,"You're supposed to wear them like this so you can hear the music." She turned the iPod and scrolled through the songs. Finally she stopped and played 'Lovestoned'(by Justin Timberlake). "So...this...iPod...lets you hear music?" Bankotsu asked, taking the iPod from Izayoi and examining it. "How do you get music in here?" "You have to download it," Izayoi explained. Bankotsu looked up and asked,"Down...load?" "I'll show you what it means to 'download' later on, okay!" Izayoi said, thinking of asking Elena to lend her a laptop. 'Lovestoned' had ended and then they both just listened to 'What Is It' (by Baby Bash ft. Sean Kingston) and 'Love In This Club' (by Usher ft. Young Jeezy) in silence.

After the songs ended, Izayoi turned the iPod off and put it away. "What's that?" Bankotsu asked, pointing to the camera she had taken out. "This is called a camera. This takes and stores pictures." "Pictures?" Izayoi turned it on and showed Bankotsu what she meant by pictures. "Look," Izayoi said showing him pictures of her friends and places. "Whose that?" "Oh those are my friends Victor, Kaori, Tifa, Alex, and Samyra," Izayoi said, pointing them out. She showed him a picture of Reno and Rude. "Hey, aren't they your friends?" "Yeah, Reno. And the other one's Rude," Izayoi said. "We were hanging out here on my birthday. In a club." "Club?" he asked. "It's a place where people can go to dance and hangout, for fun," she explained. After showing him the pictures, she showed him videos of random stuff she and her friends did at school.

One of her friends had recorded her at her school's football game, cheerleading. "Nice legs!" Bankotsu said smiling. She gave him a playful punch on the shoulder. Izayoi had also recorded her friends Ryan, Eric, and Michael skateboarding. Once she finished showing Bankotsu the videos, she said,"You wanna take some pictures together." "Okay, I guess," he replied. She dragged Bankotsu onto the floor and said,"Okay. Let's take a picture hugging each other. Look at the camera! And don't blink!" Once they saw the flash from the camera, she looked at the picture. "Hey! We look great!" Izayoi said, showing Bankotsu the picture. "Let's take another one!" Izayoi said, not waiting for his opinion on the picture. She took him back on the bed saying,"Okay let's take a picture of us kissing!"

She and Bankotsu sat down on the bed again and Izayoi held the camera in front of them. He wasted no time in kissing her. When the time was right she took the picture. "Look!" Izayoi showed him the picture. "Is that really how I look?" Bankotsu asked, taking the camera from her. "Yeah! You look **SO** hot and sexy!" Izayoi said. "You're the one that looks sexy," he replied. He hugged her and kissed her forehead. Izayoi giggled as she turned on her PSP. She put in Resident Evil and loaded her saved game. "Okay. Let me show you how to play," Izayoi said. He wrapped his arms around her and looked at the PSP with his head resting on her shoulder. "So what do you do?" he asked. "Well, basically you're supposed to escape from this city that's overrun with zombies and other things," Izayoi explained. "You have to solve puzzles sometimes, though. And you have to find keys and cards to get to certain places." "Whose that?" Bankotsu asked as he saw Izayoi start to play as Claire Redfield.

"That's the person you control when you play." "What's that?" Bankotsu asked as she opened a trunk to get some more weapons. "What's what?" "That thing she's holding," he said. "That's a gun. It's her weapon," she explained. She handed over the PSP to him and began to explain which buttons to press. Once Izayoi saw that he mastered the basics she said,"Okay. Let's see what you got!" She told Bankotsu to walk to nearby door. "Press X to open it," she told him. When Bankotsu entered the next room, there were zombies. "Shoot them!" "What button was it again?" Bankotsu asked. "L1!" Izayoi said, more worried about the zombies than he was.

Once he got the hang of the control movements, he was actually pretty good. He even got past the part Izayoi was stuck on! She was actually surprised at how fast he got the hang of it. But then again he was a guy! "Do you have any other games?" he asked pausing the game. "Yeah, but first save," Izayoi said. She showed him how to save and take out the game. She handed him Grand Theft Auto: Liberty City Stories(**Author's Note: lol this is one of my favorite games!**). Once he got the game started, he asked,"What are you supposed to do in this game?" "Whatever you want. Kill people, shop, eat, steal cars, you name it!" She taught him all the controls and soon enough he was playing like a pro. It seemed to Izayoi that he liked this game even more, seeing that he got to do some of the things he liked to do.

A couple of hours later, he turned off the PSP. "Are those the only games you have?" he asked. "Yeah. But I'll ask Reno tomorrow if he can lend me his 'Naruto' game, if he has it with him though," Izayoi replied. She yawned. "You tired?" Bankotsu asked. He lied back down on the bed. "Bankotsu, can you do me a favor?" Izayoi asked. "Anything for you," he said, with his eyes closed. "Can you go get a servant and tell them to bring some food up to my room?" "Fine," he said, getting up. He walked out of the room. A few minutes after he left, Izayoi heard a knock. "Come in!" she called out. She wasn't looking at the door and didn't see that it was Hakudoshi who had entered her room. "So, Bankotsu's spending the day with you today also, is he?" he asked sitting down on her bed.

Izayoi turned around sharply and said,"What do you want this time?" "Nothing," he replied. "Just doing what Bankotsu's supposed to be doing. Looking after you." Izayoi fixed her kimono and replied,"Well, as you can see, I'm doing just fine. So you can leave now." "Do you really think that I haven't told Naraku about your relationship with Bankotsu," Hakudoshi said in a sinister way. "He wasn't pleased to hear that his daughter is in love with a human." Izayoi stared at him as he said all this. She had known all along that it was just a matter of time before Hakudoshi told on her. "What's wrong with me falling in love with a human? I've lived with humans my whole life," she said. "Well, seeing that Naraku is your father, anyone would've thought that you would have picked someone worthier than a pathetic human," he replied. "Whatever," Izayoi said. He got up and walked to the door.

"You and Bankotsu won't be together very long," he whispered, on the other side of the door. "What did you say?" Izayoi called out, not hearing what he had just said. "Come say it in my face!" But Hakudoshi had already left. A couple of minutes later, Bankotsu came in with a woman carrying a tray with food behind him. The woman placed the tray on a low table and left. "Are you gonna eat, Bankotsu?" Izayoi said. "Yeah," he sighed. He sat down next to her and began to eat a bowl of rice. To Izayoi's surprise, he finished the whole bowl pretty fast. "So you were hungry, weren't you?" Izayoi said, drinking some tea. "Yeah. I didn't eat much in the morning," he replied, now eating some more rice. Izayoi looked intensely at Bankotsu as he ate dinner. But what was really on her mind was what happen between Hakudoshi and herself. **Why **the hell he was in her room?!

Bankotsu paused to glance at Izayoi. "Hey, what's with you? Aren't you going to eat?" Izayoi snapped back into reality and looked at Bankotsu. She saw something that caught her eye: it was the bits of rice on his face. She smiled slightly. "Umm...you have some rice on your face!" "Where?" he asked. Izayoi took out her mirror and put it in front of Bankotsu. He looked at his reflection and wiped the bits of rice off. "Okay, I think we should go to bed. I'm tired." Bankotsu pushed the tray aside. It was a while before he noticed Izayoi staring at him again."What is it now?!"

"Why do you always bring your Banryu here?" "What if the castle gets attacked during the night? I wanna be prepared in case that happens." "If that happens, I'm pretty sure my father will deal with it," she replied. "You don't have confidence in my abilities?" he asked. "No it's just that since people say my father is a powerful demon, let him deal with all the problems!" she replied as she snuggled with Bankotsu under the bed sheets. "Good night my princess," he said and he kissed her on the forehead. She rested her head on his chest and stroked his hair. "I love you," he said quietly. "I love you too!" Izayoi replied. She closed her eyes, savoring every second of the wonderful moment before falling asleep.


	9. Chapter 9

_**Chapter 9**_

The next morning, Izayoi woke up before Bankotsu did. She stared at him for a moment as he snored softly. Not wanting to wake him up, she quietly got out of bed and went to go get ready for the day_. "I think I'll wear this skirt so I can look sexy for him today_," Izayoi thought as she held a red skirt in front of her. She looked through the clothing Elena had given her and found a simple white shirt with a cherry design on the front and some white flip flops. She also managed to find some earrings and a necklace that had cherries on it. "_Does Itzsuna buy every single accessory she sees_?" she thought as she also found a matching watch and bracelets.

Izayoi took a while to decide whether to put her hair up or leave it down. Finally, she put her hair up in a ponytail and put on her usual makeup, only this time, she put on some red eyeshadow to go with her outfit. When she stepped back into the room, she saw that Bankotsu was still asleep. Izayoi went up to him and said softly,"Bankotsu?" He didn't wake up, but merely turned away. She sat down on the bed and kissed him on the cheek. He started to whine as he got up. "Did you have to wake me up so early?" he asked yawning. "Early? It's already noon!" Izayoi said, getting up. "Hurry up and get ready!" she said, as she pushed him gently. "Get ready for what?" he asked, half asleep.

"I don't know. Just get ready," Izayoi said, standing in front of him. Bankotsu looked up at her. What he noticed immediately was the short skirt she was wearing. He stayed staring at her legs for a long while before Izayoi lifted his chin up saying,"My eyes are up here!" "I know where your eyes are. I'm looking at your legs," he replied, pulling her closer to him. He then kissed her cheek. She giggled and kissed him on the forehead. "Let's go. I wanna ask Reno if he has his 'Naruto' game with his so we can play," she said, pulling away from him. "Fine. Just give me a few minutes," Bankotsu said, getting out of bed. "I'll wait for ya outside!" Izayoi said. She walked out the door and went in the direction of the courtyard. As she sat down on the steps, she saw Hakudoshi enter the castle.

His clothes were ripped a bit. Izayoi assumed he must have been doing something for her father. She braced herself for an insult as he approached. However, he did not speak to her. As a sudden breeze came, it moved his hair aside. Izayoi saw a sudden glimpse of a spider shaped mark on his back. She gasped. "That mark," she said. Hakudoshi turned around to look at her. "What about it?" he asked. "I have that mark too," Izayoi replied. She always thought of herself as being a bit weird because of it. Now that she saw that someone else had it too, she felt a little bit more at ease. "Of course you have it. You're related to Naraku," he said, going inside. "Wait!" Izayoi called out. "What?" he said, coming back outside. She hesitated a bit before saying,"Do you mean you're related to Naraku as well?" "I'm his incarnation," he replied.

"You mean like Kagura and Kanna?" "Yes," he said. "So I guess that means you're not as special as you thought you were." Izayoi closed her eyes in frustration. "_Does he always have to insult me_?!" she thought. "I'm sorry. I didn't mean to insult you this time," he laughed, going back inside. "_Well, that's the first time I was able to have a normal conversation with him. Almost_," she thought. "_Wish it was like that more often though_." "I wonder how my mom looks," Izayoi whispered suddenly to herself. "_God! It sucks that cameras haven't been invented here yet! I wish Dad would tell me about her himself. I wonder what's he's hiding from me_." "Alright. Let's go look for your friend...uhh...what's his name again?" Izayoi heard Bankotsu's voice behind her. "Reno," she said. "Right," he replied, taking her hand and walking out of the courtyard.

At the Turks campsite, Elena and Itzsuna were talking about Izayoi and Bankotsu. "I talked to her a couple of days ago," Elena was saying. "Ooo...did anything happen between them?" Itzsuna asked curiously. "Well, I think they're going out. She said that they kissed, but she wasn't sure if it was a dream," Elena explained. "I'm pretty sure it wasn't. It probably **felt** like a dream to her," Itzsuna said, being optimistic as usual. "I think they make a cute couple. Don't you?" "Yeah, they do. And Bankotsu's **really** hot. When I first saw him, I was like thinking in my head '_Damn. He's so fine_!'," Itzsuna replied. "Do you think Tseng will ever ask me out?" Elena asked. "He will eventually. That I'm sure of. Do you think Reno will ever ask me out?" Itzsuna said. "I think he will, too. You guys get along. Well, sort of. You're just both silly," Elena said, smiling.

"Hi you guys!" They turned at the sound of Izayoi's voice. They saw that she and Bankotsu were holding hands and gasped. "So they are going out. I knew it!" Itzsuna whispered to Elena excitedly. "I know! Let's go over to 'congratulate' her!" Elena suggested. She and Itzsuna walked up to them and hugged Izayoi. "So how have things been around here. Have you managed to contact Shinra?" Izayoi asked, as as they broke the hug apart. "No. We've been trying though," Elena replied. "Hey, you look nice today. Glad you were able to use the cherry earrings!" Itzsuna complimented. "Thanks! Anyway, is Reno around. I wanna ask him if I can borrow his 'Naruto' game," Izayoi said. "Actually, we haven't seen Rude, Reno, or Tseng all morning. But I have his game. I'll just tell him that ya borrowed it," Itzsuna offered. She went into their huge tent and came back a few moments later with the 'Naruto' game. "Thanks, Itzsuna!" Izayoi said.

"So wanna play, Bankotsu?" "Huh? Oh, yeah," Bankotsu said. He had been caught off guard due to the fact that he was staring curiously at the laptop on a table. "We'll be around. We're just gonna play for a while," Izayoi said, leading Bankotsu. They sat under a shady tree and Izayoi took out her PSP from her purse. "They're so cute together!" Elena said. She and Itzsuna were spying on them from behind a huge rock. "_Do they really think that I can't see them from here_?" Izayoi thought, as Bankotsu turned on the PSP. "So what's this game about?" "Ninjas!" Izayoi explained. Bankotsu was scrolling through a list of available players. "Who should I play as?" he asked Izayoi. "Pick Kakashi," Izayoi said. "Okay," Bankotsu said. Izayoi spend about five minutes explaining the controls to him.

Izayoi looked away and felt the breeze blowing gently against her face. She suddenly remembered that she was going to ask Elena to lend her a laptop. She looked at Bankotsu playing and saw that she was fighting against Orochimaru. "Throw kunais at him. You're almost dying!" Izayoi scolded. "Chill out. I've died before. It's no big deal," Bankotsu said impatiently. "Have you attacked him with any jutsus?" Izayoi asked. "Wow! They're really into that game," Elena said. "Well, that's one thing they have in common: they both like videogames!" Itzsuna said happily. "Do you wanna go over there with them?" Elena asked. "Sure. Let's go!" They went over to the tree where Bankotsu and Izayoi were at.

"So ya guys having fun?" Itzsuna asked. Izayoi was about to reply when a familiar gust of wind came. Sure enough, it was Kagura who had arrived. "What's wrong? Does my father want me back at the castle or something?" Izayoi asked. "No. But I have some bad news," Kagura replied sitting down on a rock. "What is it?" Izayoi asked confused. Kagura sighed before replying,"It's just that...I overheard your father and some guy named Hakushi talking about something." "What were they talking about?" Izayoi said, worried. "I...I think they were making plans for a--" Kagura hesitated. "A what?" asked Izayoi impatiently. "I think your father is arranging a marriage between you and Hakushi," Kagura finished. Izayoi looked down for a while, taking in what Kagura had just said. "What? And I don't have a say in this?" Izayoi said, moving closer to Bankotsu. He embraced her as he watched Kagura start to fan herself. "Well, your father has complete authority over you. So I guess you don't. I'm sorry," Kagura replied.

"It's not your fault. Did you hear everything?" Izayoi said. "I only heard that the marriage is in two days," Kagura said, getting up. "Two days!!" Elena and Itzsuna exclaimed. "I'd better be going. I just thought I'd come over to tell you," Kagura said, throwing one of the feathers in her hair up into the air. "Thanks for the warning," Izayoi said, as she watched Kagura fly away on her feather. "I want to go talk with my father," Izayoi said, getting up. "Are you sure? I doubt that you'll be able to convince him to call off the wedding," Bankotsu said, getting up as well. "I just wanna try. You never know," Izayoi said. "Anyways, bye you guys!" Izayoi said, waving to them as she and Bankotsu walked back to the castle. "Man! That sucks! They barely started going out and know she has to marry some guy that she doesn't even know!" Itzsuna said angrily as she and Elena watched them leave. "Poor, Izayoi!" Elena said worried. "The most we can do right now is to support her. I'll see if I call her later."

Back at the castle, Izayoi was heading to her father's chambers. She was furious. "_Somehow I feel as if Hakudoshi's behind all this_!" she thought angrily. Bankotsu had left her in front of the castle gates while he left to go with his comrades. She knew that this was affecting him deeply too. They had barely been going out for 3 days and now something had to get in their way! She paused outside her dad's room when she heard voices coming from inside. As she tried to hear what they were saying, she heard Naraku's voice say,"Come in, Izayoi." Izayoi gulped and hesitated a bit before walking in. The first thing she noticed was that Naraku was talking to a cute looking demon with red hair and green eyes. "_It's him! Hakushi_!" Izayoi remembered. She had seen Hakudoshi talking to him in the garden not too long ago.

"Are you just going to stand there, Izayoi?" her father said. She walked across the room and sat in front of him. The demon named Hakushi gave her a small smile. She smiled back and thought,"_Well, he looks nice_." She glanced towards the window and barely noticed that Hakudoshi was present as well. "_I know you planned this, Hakudoshi_!" she thought. He smirked at her as he read her thought. "Well, Hakushi. This is my daughter. I don't know if Hakudoshi has introduced her to you before," Naraku said, not looking at her. "No, this is the first time I meet her. If I may say, she is as beautiful as Hakudoshi said was," Hakushi complimented. He took Izayoi's hand and kissed it saying,"It's a pleasure to meet you, Izayoi." She blushed and smiled. _"What a gentleman!"_ she thought. Izayoi glaced at Hakudoshi and saw he was looking away. "The pleasure's all mine," she replied politely.

Hakushi turned away and said to Naraku,"Anyway, what was it you--" Izayoi stopped paying attention to the conversation and looked at Hakudoshi. He glared angrily at her. "_What are you so mad about? Did you get insulted because I said he was a gentleman_?" Izayoi mocked. She tossed her hair aside and looked down, ignoring everything that was going on around her. As he saw her move her hair aside, he saw the mark that he had left her. The mark that said that she was his. He suddenly worried. "_Damn! If Hakushi sees that mark, he's sure to tell Naraku about it. Then, she'll be able to blame me. Who knows what Naraku will do if he finds out that I marked her without him knowing_!" Hakushi got up and walked to the door. "Hakudoshi, accompany Hakushi out," Naraku said. Hakudoshi got up and walked silently to the door. Izayoi thought he looked like he had something on his mind. Hakushi bowed to Izayoi before he stepped out, saying,"I must say, Izayoi, your exquisite beauty is a sight to behold." "_He's romantic!" _Izayoi thought.

Hakudoshi looked back at her rather angrily. Once they had left, Izayoi blurted out,"Do I have to marry him?" Naraku looked at her coldly before replying,"Of course you do. Besides, why do you worry? I will make sure he treats you well." "I don't have a problem with him," Izayoi said. "Well, then why don't you want to marry?" "Because...I...don't think I'm ready for marriage," Izayoi replied, looking at her father for his reaction. "**I** think you are mature enough for marriage," he said. "But--" Izayoi began. "You may go," Naraku said abruptly. She decided not to argue with him and just stepped out of his room. Just befor she left, she sticked out her tongue at Naraku. When she closed the door behind her, she heard Naraku say,"I saw that." She laughed in her mind after he said that.

Izayoi walked down the outside stairs of the castle and sat down on the last step. She pulled out her phone to talk with Elena about what had just happened. She dialed Elena's number and waited for her to answer. "Hello", she heard Elena's voice say. "Hello, Elena?" Curious, Elena answered without hesitation."So how did it go with the '**Boss man**'?!" Izayoi sighed and replied,"Not all that well. I met the guy I'm suppose to marry!" Elena wanted to know more and asked,"What did he look like? I bet he was a hottie!" Izayoi said,"The guy was nice, but why do you ask at a time like this if the guy is hot?!" "I don't know, I'm just curious! Anyway, that didn't answer my question, Izayoi! What about his name?" Elena retorted.

Izayoi huffed with frustration and answered,"Well, Elena, his name is Hakushi. He's cute and he's a gentlemen, but he's not my type." Elena merely listened to Izayoi and then said,"Izayoi, I just asked if he was a cutie! You don't have to be mean about it!" Izayoi sighed and calmly said,"I'm not trying to be mean. I was just saying the truth. I don't mind that the guy is nice, romantic, and all, but I love my Bankotsu better! I like him because he's **hot**,** strong**, **romantic** when he wants to be, **funny**, and not to mention he's the **sexiest** guy I've ever seen!" Izayoi sighed at the thought of her beloved Bankotsu**. **"Ok, I don't have to hear a grammar lecture on adjectives!" Izayoi laughed at Elena's comment.

Then she stopped to think silently. "Two days until the wedding, huh? That'll be something to look forward to," Izayoi said sarcasticly. "Hey, don't let that get you down! Alot can happen in two days!" Elena said, trying to cheer up Izayoi. "You're right, but how am I going to get out this one?" "I'm sure that we'll figure something out!" "Well, anyways... thanks, Elena. I gotta go. Say hi to everyone for me!" "I will. Bye!" Izayoi put away her cell phone.

Unnoticed, Hakudoshi was staring at her before walking away. Izayoi got up and said,"Hey, hold it! I need to talk to you!" She followed him persistently. He didn't stop and went on walking. He was aware that Izayoi wanted to talk to him about the whole marriage issue. He saw her follow him out of the corner of his eyes.

"What the hell's your problem?! Why did you have to go tell Naraku about me and Bankotsu?!" Izayoi said, frustrated. He stopped in the middle of a hallway and opened the door. Izayoi caught up with him and followed him into the room. She was determined to follow him for as long as it took until she got some answers. Making sure that there wasn't anyone around, Hakudoshi closed the door behind him. Izayoi stood with her arms crossed, waiting for him to answer her. Hakudoshi faced her and smiled to himself. Izayoi walked over him and said in a calm voice. "Okay...I know that you are behind all this! Now, what I want to know is why you insist on getting into my life." Hakudoshi laughed, "Well, Naraku has the right to know what you're up to. He is your father, after all. As for the whole marriage plan, it was easy! All I had to do was tell Naraku about your relationship with Bankotsu and the rest was all planned out." Izayoi glared at him and slapped him. "You're so predictable, Izayoi," he replied, gently touching his cheek.

He got closer to her and Izayoi backed up until she was stopped by the bed behind her. Hakudoshi leaned even closer to her. He pushed her gently and she landed on the bed. He stared at her bare legs and gently touched them. Izayoi was about to get up, but he got on top of her. He leaned closer to her face until their noses touched. He then slowly move his lips down her neck to where the mark he had left her was. Izayoi shivered as she felt Hakudoshi caress her legs again. "Get off me!" she yelled as she tried to push him off. "Quit stuggling. It'll save me effort," he whispered. "What's that supposed to mean?!" Izayoi asked, glaring fiercely at him. "You'll soon find out," he replied gently moving his hands up her shirt. She tried to push him off once more.

Hakudoshi placed a hand on her cheek. "You're not strong enough. Why don't you just give yourself to me?" "I'll never give myself to you!" she replied angrily. Hakudoshi cupped her chin and move closer to her face, almost touching her lips with his. "Don't worry. You're such a delicate thing. I wouldn't want to hurt you, now would I?" He placed his hand on her throat and began to squeeze the life out of her. Izayoi pulled on his arm until he lessened his grip on her. Being able to breathe a bit more, she said,"You bastard! You'll pay for this!" She was gasping for air, glaring at him angrily the whole time. He looked at her as she continued to put up a fight. Hakudoshi released his grip on her.

Izayoi began to cough and gasp continuously. He got off her and walked to the door. Before he left, however, he said,"Now you know that you hold no power over me!" He left, leaving Izayoi on the bed. She didn't move from where she was. She was thinking about what had just happened. Hakudoshi was a danger to her now! If she told her father, he probably wouldn't believe her. "I need Bankotsu!" she said to herself.

Bankotsu was in the castle and was talking to Kohaku. "Do you know where Izayoi is?" he asked. "Have you check her room?" Kohaku replied. "Yeah, but she wasn't there." "I have no idea where she might be. You can look around the castle if you'd like," Kohaku said. "I guess I'll go look around," Bankotsu answered. He walked down hallway after hallway, asking servants if they had seen Izayoi. Izayoi was rubbing her throat, still sitting on the bed. "_Where am I, anyway_?" she thought. She looked around and saw a familiar weapon leaning against the door. "_I've seen that before...that's Hakudoshi's weapon! Am I in his room_?!" Izayoi heard Bankotsu's voice from a distance.

"Bankotsu!" Izayoi called out. "Izayoi?!" he replied. He found the room where she was in. "Izayoi, what are you doing here?" he asked, approaching her. He sat down on the bed. Suddenly, she threw herself into his arms and started to cry. "What's wrong?" he asked, hugging her and running his fingers through her hair. "Everything's wrong!" Izayoi said, as she sobbed into his chest. "I have to marry someone else, Hakudoshi almost killed me--" "He what?!" "He almost killed me!" Izayoi repeated. "That bastard! He'll pay for this! I'll kill him myself!" Bankotsu said angrily, hugging Izayoi tighter. "Don't, that's what he wants you to do. He knows that if you hurt him, Naraku will get rid of you for good," Izayoi said, looking up at him. She touched his face gently.

She had left out the part that Hakudoshi had also touched her. Izayoi didn't want for Bankotsu to be even more furious. He leaned down and kissed her. Izayoi kissed him with as much passion as she had during their first kiss. She closed her eyes in comfort. She needed affection more than anything at a time like this. It seemed to last for at least half an hour to Izayoi. Bankotsu unwillingly ended the kiss. He embraced her. All of her problems were worrying him as well. He didn't want to give her up to someone that didn't have her love. And he hated the fact that Hakudoshi tried to harm her and that he couldn't do anything about it. Bankotsu and Izayoi got off the bed and went out for a walk in the meadow. The sun was shining brightly as they passed by a beautiful river, holding each others hands for comfort. As they walked in silence, they each thought of all the problems that were trying to keep them apart.


	10. Chapter 10

**Chapter 10**

Izayoi woke up in her bed with Bankotsu beside her. She sat up suddenly. The wedding was tomorrow night! There was no way that she could escape this! Not that she didn't have anything against Hakushi, it was just that she was in love with Bankotsu and not him. He was charming and cute, but Izayoi didn't want him as a husband. "_Well_," she thought sadly. "_At least I won't be living under the same roof with Hakudoshi anymore_." She sighed and turned to look at Bankotsu. Apparently, he had woken up and was watching her. Izayoi fell onto his chest and started to cry in frustration. "I don't want to marry him!" she cried. "I know you don't," he said gently. "I don't want you to marry either."

Izayoi got up from the bed and went to open a window. The sunlight shone into the room. It was a beautiful day outside. If the whole marriage issue wasn't around, she would probably be enjoying the day with Bankotsu. He came over to her and hugged her. He sighed as he thought that he was going to loose his Izayoi tomorrow night. He kissed her cheek and held her closer to him. "I'm gonna go get ready," Izayoi said sadly. Bankotsu let go of her and watched her go into the bathroom. He stared at her silhouette through the screen. He didn't want Izayoi to belong to someone else.

Bankotsu walked away and went to sit on the bed. "_I wonder what that creep Hakudoshi did to her?.Who the hell does he think he is!? Even __**I**__ wouldn't be able to hurt Izayoi in any way. She's too beautiful_," he thought. "_But still...I don't want to give her up to that guy_!" He felt his eyes suddenly fill with tears. He wiped them away and thought, "_I haven't cried in a long time_. _I musn't let Izayoi see me cry_." After some time, Izayoi came out of the bathroom. Apparently, she didn't want to waste her time getting ready. Her hair was damp and she didn't have her usual makeup on. Bankotsu looked at her. "_She still looks beautiful_," he said in his mind.

Izayoi went to the bed and sat down on it. Bankotsu noticed the sad look in her gorgeous red eyes as she brushed her hair. "Izayoi?" he asked gently. She looked up at him. "What is it?" she asked softly. "I don't...I...don't wanna...I don't wanna loose you!" he burst out suddenly. He suddenly embraced her. Izayoi looked down at Bankotsu in surprise. He was trying hard not to shed tears as he rested his face on her chest. This time, Izayoi stroked **his** hair. "I love you, Bankotsu. I always will," she said gently. She cried gently as she rested her head on his. "I love you, too, Izayoi," he said, looking up at her. Izayoi lovingly stared back at him. She had never seen Bankotsu act so sweetly before. She gave him a small smile. "_I'd do anything to avoid getting married_," she thought. "_I'll do anything to see my Bankotsu happy like he was when I first met him_."

A sudden knock startled them slightly. Izayoi said,"Who is it?" "It's me. Kagura!" "Come in," Izayoi answered. "I have some good news and some bad news," she said. "What's the good news?" Izayoi asked. "You don't have to get married anymore! Naraku called off the marriage!" Kagura replied, smiling slightly. Izayoi and Bankotsu hugged each other tightly. "It's over!" Izayoi whispered to Bankotsu excitedly. Kagura watched patiently as she saw the two lovers embraced in happiness. "What's the bad news?" Bankotsu asked, as he and Izayoi pulled away.

"The reason Naraku called off the marriage is because Hakushi is dead. Killed as a matter of fact," Kagura said, waving herself with her fan. "Killed! By who?!" Izayoi asked, shocked. "Who knows. Apparently, his servants found him dead outside. All I know is that he was slashed across the chest. And from what the letter said, the wound was pretty deep. Deep enough that it was fatal," Kagura replied with a solemn look on her face. "The letter?" Izayoi questioned. "The servants send a letter just this morning." Izayoi sat in thought for a few moments. "Don't get the wrong idea, but I'm happy that I don't have to marry Hakushi anymore. But I think that he didn't deserve to die the way he did," Izayoi replied quietly.

"Well, I'd better leave before anyone catches me," Kagura said, stepping out of the room. As soon as she left, Bankotsu lifted Izayoi in his arms and kissed her. After carrying her for a long while, he put her down onto the bed. Izayoi looked at him and said happily,"Well, now that our problem is solve, what do you wanna do?" "I just wanna be with you," Bankotsu replied. "Okay, then! Let's go eat some breakfast," Izayoi suggested. "Fine," he said, getting up.

Bankotsu and Izayoi were outside eating the breakfast that the servants had prepared for them. "I feel as if I can breathe now that the marriage is cancelled," Izayoi told Bankotsu as she fed him some of her food. He swallowed and then said,"Yeah, I'm glad you don't have to marry someone else." He fed her rice and then added,"Now all we have to do is make sure that Hakudoshi doesn't harm you anymore." "Do you think I should tell my father about it?" Izayoi asked.

Bankotsu looked at her for a few moments before replying,"You should if you think he'll believe you." "That's the problem. I don't know if he **will** believe me!" Izayoi looked away and signaled for a servant to clean up the area. "Oh, well. I'll just have to avoid Hakudoshi more than ever I guess," Izayoi said. "Let's go over with my friends. I'll be able to show you how to download music. Remember when I showed you my iPod?" "Oh, yeah. Let's go!" Bankotsu said helping Izayoi up.


	11. Chapter 11

**Chapter 11**

Four days passed by blissfully. Izayoi and Bankotsu had spend all of their time together. During the day, they went over to the Turks campsite. Elena had let Izayoi borrow one of the laptops. She showed Bankotsu what she had meant by downloading music and also how to use the Internet. He was fasinated by all of the things she could on a laptop. Izayoi let Bankotsu see her chat with her friends online. She even introduced him to some of her friends and let him talk to them. And when Izayoi wasn't with the Turks, she was in her room with Bankotsu. To make things even better, she hadn't even **seen** Hakudoshi around!

Izayoi and Bankotsu were lying down together beside a beautiful river. "This is the first time in a long while that I have felt completely relaxed," Izayoi said to Bankotsu. "You know, Izayoi. Sometimes I wonder how things would be around here if I had never met you," he said. "I wonder that too. I would probably be on vacation somewhere or just relaxing at home, I guess," Izayoi said. She rolled over on top of Bankotsu. "I love you!" she said. "I love you more," he replied, kissing her quickly. "Oh, I almost forgot! I need to go tell my brothers to go do something for me," he added.

He got up and walked up the river bank. "Izayoi, can you wait for me here? I won't take long," he asked pausing a few feet away from her. "Yeah, sure! I'll be here," Izayoi replied, getting up and sitting on top of a rock. She watched Bankotsu walk away and sighed. She looked around at the beautiful scenery he had brought her to. "Hey Izayoi!" Izayoi heard the familiar voice that belong to none other than Reno and turned around. "What are ya up to?" he asked. Izayoi got off the rock she had been sitting on and said,"Oh, nothing. Just waiting for Bankotsu to come back!" As she said this, she noticed that Reno looked unusually tense. "Are you okay, Reno?" she asked. "Umm...Izayoi...there's something I've been meaning to tell ya," he replied. "What is it?" Izayoi asked in a concerned way. "Izayoi, I-I really, really like you!" he exclaimed.

Reno rushed forward and, hugging her, he kissed Izayoi. Izayoi was caught off guard. Suddenly she saw that Bankotsu was coming back from where ever he was. He came to a halt when he saw that Izayoi was kissing Reno. Izayoi pushed Reno away and approached Bankotsu slightly. "Soo...I guess I can't trust you enough to leave you by yourself, huh?" he said. Izayoi hadn't seen Bankotsu look angry before and immediately said,"No. Don't get the wrong idea! He wa--" Bankotsu ignored her and simply turned around and started to walk away from her. "Please! Listen to me, Bankotsu!" Izayoi said, running to him. Bankotsu suddenly stopped and replied,"Don't waste your time explaining to me. I've seen enough." His voice wasn't raised, but Izayoi clearly heard the fury in it. Izayoi was about to say something, but then stopped and turned to Reno. "You idiot! Why the hell did you do that?!" Izayoi said, tears welling up in her eyes. "Sorry..." he replied, looking down. Izayoi turned away and ran as far away as possible from Reno.

Elena was currently using a laptop at the Turks camp, downloading songs. She had just finished downloading 'Hate That I Love You' (by Rihanna ft. NE-YO), when she saw Izayoi coming towards her, crying. Elena got up and ran over to her asking,"What happen?" Izayoi couldn't speak and just cried harder as Elena embraced her. After a few moments, Izayoi calmed down. She sniffed before saying,"Okay...I was with Bankotsu, you know just chilling. Then he left for a while because he said he had to go tell his brothers to go do something. So he left right? Then, Reno came over to me. I noticed that he was acting a bit...like nervous or something. So I asked him what was wrong. Then he told me that he liked me! And then he kissed me!" Izayoi paused for a moment before going on. "Anyway I was shocked, ya know? And then I saw Bankotsu coming and he saw me kissing Reno! I tried explaining to him but he wouldn't listen!"

Izayoi burst into tears once more. Elena continued to hug her and asked,"So he thought you were cheating on him?" Izayoi nodded. "I would never cheat on him! I love him so much!" "I know you wouldn't but still...don't worry Izayoi. I'll try to talk to Bankotsu and get him to reason," Elena said gently. Izayoi sniffed several times before letting go of Elena. "I don't think he'll listen to you either." "I'll knock some sense into him, no matter how!" Elena encouraged. "I'm sure everything will be back to normal soon." "You think so?" Izayoi asked. "Yeah!" Izayoi gave Elena a small hopeful smile before she left back home, by herself, for the first time.


	12. Chapter 12

_**Chapter 12**_

Izayoi climbed the few stairs and made her way to her father's chambers._ "I guess I'll go talk to Dad for a while. Just to get my mind off everything_," Izayoi thought as she stopped outside his door. "May I come in?" she called. "Yes of course," she heard Naraku reply. She opened the door and went over to sit next to her father. Apparently, he hadn't been expecting her. Izayoi hugged him, feeling that she needed a parent's affection. He put an arm around her and asked,"What's wrong, Izayoi?" "Nothing. I just had nothing better to do," she replied.

He kissed the top of her head and Izayoi smiled to herself. This was exactly what she needed! She heard the door slide open. "Hakudoshi, you're just in time. Take Izayoi out somewhere for me," Naraku said. Izayoi's heart leapt. "But I don't wanna go anywhere," Izayoi told Naraku. Hakudoshi approached them, smiling at Izayoi. "Where do you want me to take her ?" "It doesn't matter," Naraku replied. "Very well then," Hakudoshi said. "Come, Izayoi." Reluctantly, Izayoi got up and followed Hakudoshi out the door. Down the hall, he turned to look at Izayoi. "Where do you want to go?" "I don't know," Izayoi said as she walked, looking down at her feet. "Fine. I'll take you somewhere you haven't been to with Bankotsu," he replied.

Hakudoshi had taken Izayoi to a cliff overlooking the sea. Izayoi had to admit that it was a very beautiful place. The sun was shining brightly and there was a gentle breeze passing by. Izayoi sat on the edge, letting the breeze blow her hair back. Hakudoshi stood behind her. He was looking at Izayoi. "I told you that the human wasn't worthy of you. And now, he's broken your heart," he said softly. "_He has a point_," Izayoi thought. He placed a hand on her shoulder and sat down beside her. She decided that she didn't care any more about anything and Izayoi let Hakudoshi come near her. He pulled Izayoi closer to his chest. Izayoi buried her face in his chest and felt Hakudoshi surround her. She felt his hands wrap around her waist.

Izayoi looked up to face Hakudoshi. Hakudoshi smiled at Izayoi and she suddenly began to cry on his shoulder. This was the first time she had actually **allowed** Hakudoshi to get close to her. "Why are you acting so nice? It's not like I deserve it," Izayoi said under her breath. Hakudoshi gazed at Izayoi for a moment Then, he put his hand on her chin. As she felt him rubbing his thumb on her lips. Hakudoshi gently stroked her hair like Bankotsu use to. "You shouldn't ask questions if you already know what the answer is."

Izayoi was silent as she gave herself a moment to think about what Hakudoshi said. _"What does he really mean by that?" _"You really should've listened to me, Izayoi. None of this would've happened if you just would listen," Hakudoshi taunted. _"Okay...a minute ago you were all nice and now you're insulting me again?! Now, that's just messed up! What I am saying?! What are you thinking, Izayoi?!" _Hakudoshi grinned to himself as he was read her thoughts. He was thinking that he would have to take this to the next level. "Listen here! You're just another incarnation of my father! Nothing will ever happen between us!"

Laughing slightly to himself, Hakudoshi kissed Izayoi on the cheek and looked at her face. The fact that she was mad at him, like how she usually was, amused him. Izayoi cheeks turned red with anger at Hakudoshi touching her. How could she have let herself be touched by the likes of him? "By the looks of it, you're back to your normal self. I guess I'll leave you to think to yourself." With that, Hakudoshi left. Izayoi yelled at him as he walked away,"Oh, yeah! Well, you can...go to hell, Hakudoshi!"After being left alone for a few minutes, Izayoi stood up and went to walk in the woods, to forget what just taken place. Feeling like a fool, Izayoi continued to walk blindly, without even looking where she was going.

Bankotsu, who was walking in the woods himself, was thinking about Izayoi. Even though he had seen her kiss the other guy, he still loved her. He still considered her very important to him. Izayoi was thinking about Bankotsu as well. How she missed his gentle touch. Her lips longed to kiss him once more. They both were unawarely walking towards each other.

They both looked up and saw each other from a distance. Both stopped and stared at each other. Izayoi gasped. She wanted to run to him, but she wasn't sure of what he would do. Would he reject her or would he show affection towards her? Bankotsu saw Izayoi looking at him. He wanted to go over to her and embrace her, but he wasn't sure of whether he should. Izayoi looked down and continued to walk, as did Bankotsu. They passed by each other and Izayoi came to a stop. Sensing that she had paused, Bankotsu stopped as well. There was a deep silence between them. A sudden breeze whispered through the air as both waited for the other to speak. "You're a fool!" she said in a low voice. "You told me that you loved me more than anyone else. Yet if you had **truly** loved me, you would've believed that I was telling the truth." "What truth?! The only thing I saw was you kissing that friend of yours!" he replied angrily, turning around.

Izayoi turned and saw him cut a tree down with his Banryu in anger. "You're lucky that I didn't kill your friend. I _**could have **_killed him. After all, I've killed before." Izayoi walked up to him and asked,"If you could have kill him, why didn't you?" Bankotsu remained silent. Izayoi was getting more frustrated by the minute. She went up to him and stood in front of him. Bankotsu refused to look at her. Izayoi turned and crossed her arms. "I guess you're not man enough to face me!" she said calmly. Before she knew it, Bankotsu grasped her and turned her around to face him. "You're not so perfect yourself! You know, when we first kissed, I thought I had fallen in love with a normal girl. I didn't care if you were a half demon! So go find someone else, half breed!" he yelled. He pushed away from him, glaring at her furiously. He was about to leave when Izayoi went after him. "Bankotsu, I just want you to lis--" He pushed her away. Izayoi backed into a tree. She couldn't speak and just looked at the ground. Bankotsu walked away before she could try to follow him.

Izayoi looked up and saw that Bankotsu had left. She slid down to the ground and began to cry uncontrollably. She was shocked at how Bankotsu had just treated her.** +Go find someone else, half breed****!"+**Izayoi cried harder as she remembered these harsh words he had told her. He had never acted like that towards her. Izayoi felt someone place their hand on her head and looked up. Hakudoshi knelt beside her and said,"What are you doing lying here on the ground? I thought you were going back to the castle." Izayoi looked down as more tears spilled from her eyes. "Why do you insist on going after Bankotsu?" Hakudoshi asked her softly. "I don't know," she replied truthfully. Izayoi wiped away her tears with her sleeve.

Taking advantage of the situation, he embraced her as she began to cry on his shoulder. Once she had calmed down a bit, she glanced at Hakudoshi. Bankotsu had made it clear that he didn't want anything to do with her. She was confused and just needed comfort. Slowly, Izayoi reached up and met his lips. Hakudoshi kissed her back passionately. "_Well, I never thought that this situation would benefit me. And I didn't even have to do anything_!" he thought. Izayoi was half aware of what was going on. "_What the hell are you doing, Izayoi?_" she thought to herself."_You shouldn't be doing this! You hate Hakudoshi. He tried to kill you, remember?_" she argued in her mind as she kissed his neck.

"_I know. But he's showing me love. And that's what I want right now. I don't care if he tried to kill me_!" "_He doesn't __**love**__ you. He only __**desires**__ you_!" "Reno! How the hell could you have done such a thing to her knowing that she was going out with him! You idiot!" Izayoi looked up as she heard Itzsuna's voice from a distance. Izayoi looked back. Hakudoshi got up and also looked at the direction from where Itzsuna's voice had come from. "Let's get you back to the castle, shall we?" he said. Izayoi was embarrassed and angry of what she had just let Hakudoshi do to her. She nodded, not wanting to meet up with Reno or Itzsuna. This whole mess was his fault anyway! Izayoi turned and followed Hakudoshi.

Back at the castle, Izayoi sat in the bathtub thinking about everything that had happened to her in just one day. First Reno kissed her. Then she had a moment with Hakudoshi. After that, she and Bankotsu had argued. And then, she had another moment with Hakudoshi. Right now, she was tired, hungry, and confused. She got out of the bath and got dressed. She went to the kitchen and asked a servant to make her some dinner. Izayoi ate her food without really getting any taste out of it. When she finished she walked back to her room and threw herself on her bed. In spite of how Bankotsu had treated her earlier, she still missed him. She remembered when he used to stay over for the night. "I wonder what my Bankotsu's doing right now," she whispered to herself.

At the end of the forest, Bankotsu was swinging his Banryu like mad at all the trees. The image of Izayoi and Reno kissing her kept popping intohis mind. "Damn! Why I can't erase her from my head?!" Bankotsu shouted, almost sounding like he was howling. "_It's because you still love her_," his conscience said to him. He ran his fingers through his hair in frustration and sighed. He knew that he had treated her badly when they met in to forest. "_I shouldn't have done that to her. Even though she betrayed me, she didn't deserve that. I'm such an idiot!_" he thought to himself. Bankotsu looked up at the sky and said,"I wonder what my Izayoi's doing right now."

As Izayoi lied in her bed thinking of Bankotsu and how much she missed him, she couldn't fall asleep. She was used to sleeping with someone else. After tossing and turning for almost 2 hours, Izayoi finally closed her eyes and slowly began to fall into an uneasy sleep.


	13. Chapter 13

**Chapter 13**

When Izayoi woke up early that morning, she stayed in bed for quite a while before getting up. She took a quick bath and got dressed. She went down to the kitchen and asked a woman there to make her a quick breakfast. As she ate, Izayoi was wondering about what to do that day. "_I guess I'll go visit Elena and Itzsuna for a while_," she thought. After thanking the woman for the delicious breakfast, she went to her father's room to tell him that she was leaving.

Pausing outside his room, Izayoi called out,"Father, I'm gonna go see my friends for a while. Is that okay?" "Fine. Just make sure that Bankotsu goes with you," he replied. Izayoi gulped and said,"Okay." She walked outside and was deciding whether or not to go look for Bankotsu. "_Well, if I tell him to come with me, he'll have to whether he wants to or not. After all, that's what Dad hired him for in the first place_," she thought. "Where are you going?" she heard a familiar voice say. Izayoi turned and saw Bankotsu behind her. "I'm gonna go see my friends," she replied coldly. Izayoi continued walking and sensed him following her. In a way, it was kind of annoying that he kept following her. However, she still loved him deeply and was grateful that he was still supposed to protect her, at least.

"Have you talked to Izayoi?" Elena asked Itzsuna as they were using the laptops. "Nope. Have you?" Itzsuna asked, going on YouTube. "I think the last time I talked to her was a couple of days ago or maybe yesterday. I'm not sure. I loose track of the time here," Elena replied. "Stupid Reno! He just had to ruin Izayoi's relationship with Bankotsu. How long had they been going out? A week, right?" "Mas o menos," Itzsuna replied. "What's that?" Elena asked. "Oh, it's Spanish for 'kind of'," Itzsuna replied. "Oh." Elena looked away and saw Izayoi walking to them. "Hey, it's Izayoi!" Elena cried out. "Izayoi!!" Itzsuna yelled, running over and hugging Izayoi. "Elena told me what happened."

Itzsuna let go of Izayoi and saw Bankotsu stop behind her. Itzsuna gave him a dirty look before saying,"Hey, ya wanna watch some 'Spongebob' episodes on Youtube?" "Sure," Izayoi replied happily. She turned to Bankotsu and said,"You may leave." With an expressionless look on his face, Bankotsu replied,"As you wish." He turned around and left. "So he's still your bodyguard, huh?" Elena said as Izayoi and Itzsuna sat down at the table. "Yeah. Dad's orders," Izayoi sighed. "What episode do ya wanna see?" Itzsuna asked. "Oh, look for the episode where Plankton switches bodies with Mr. Krabbs. It's called 'The Algae's Always Greener' I think," Izayoi replied excitedly**_(Author's Note: I love watching Spongebob! lol)_** .

"Do you know the name of every single 'Spongebob' episode?" Elena asked, giggling. "Kind of," Izayoi replied. After Izayoi, Itzsuna, and Elena finished watching several 'Spongebob' episodes, Izayoi said,"Spongebob always makes me happy! I feel better!" "So what are ya gonna do now?" Itzsuna asked. "I gotta go back home. See ya later!" Izayoi waved goodbye to Elena and Itzsuna and set off home. "God! Why does the castle have to be so far away," Izayoi whined. She had been walking for about 10 minutes and flopped down on a rock to rest. After quickly checking the time on her phone, she got off the rock. "Move vermin! You're in my way!" Izayoi turned suddenly and saw a handsome man with silky white hair and a crescent moon marking on his forehead a short distance away from her.

"Hey, man! Don't call **me **vermin! Who the hell do you think you are?!" Izayoi replied angrily. As the man came closer, Izayoi noticed that he was a demon. What caught her attention was his big fluffy thing over his shoulder.The demon was silent for a moment. "Are you not another one of Naraku's incarnations?" he asked. "No." The demon took in her scent and said,"Your scent is the same as his and yet you're not one of his creations." Izayoi crossed her arms and replied disdainfully,"Actually, I'm his daughter."

The demon narrowed his eyes and thought,"_How can someone like Naraku get himself a kid_?" He then spoke to Izayoi. "So you are Naraku's daughter. How interesting. Are you a demon?" "No. I'm a half-demon," she replied. "_Her demon scent is strong. However, there __**is**__ a very faint human scent to her as well_," he thought. "Who's your mother?" he asked her suddenly. Izayoi looked at him questionably and answered,"Kikyo." "Hmm...I see," he said.

And with that the demon walked away. He was thinking to himself deeply about the girl she had just met. "_**Rin, where have you been?" he asked the little girl running to him. "Oh, Lord Sesshomaru! I was picking flowers as you can see," she replied happily, holding out the flowers. "Oh and I saw Inuyasha and Kagome talking about a priestess named Kikyo while I was looking for flowers. The were saying something that Naraku had killed her. That's all I heard because I thought you would worry about me if I took too long." He looked a her for a moment before replying,"Come, Rin. Let's go." "Coming!" she said, running after him**__._ "_She said that her mother's name was Kikyo. Could it have been the same woman Rin told me about?" _he thought as he disappeared into the forest.

Izayoi looked at the demon walk away. "Who was that?!" she said to herself as she continued going in the direction of the castle. "I wonder if Dad knows who he is," she whispered. Izayoi went to her father's room and knocked. "What is it now Izayoi?" Izayoi stepped in and asked,"How did you know it was me?" "I have my ways of knowing where you are," Naraku answered. Izayoi gasped and replied,"You stalker!" Naraku sighed and said,"What do you want?" "Well, right now when I was coming back from visiting my friends, I met this demon. At least, I think he was a demon."

"How did he look like?" Naraku asked. "Umm...he had white hair and...umm...he had a crescent moon mark on his forehead. He thought I was one of your incarnations," Izayoi explained. "Do you know him?" "That was Sesshomaru," he replied. "Sesshomaru?" "He's Inuyasha's older brother," Naraku said. "Really? He looked like a powerful demon. How can **he** be related to a punk like Inuyasha?" Izayoi laughed. "Sesshomaru, unlike Inuyasha, isn't a half demon. " "Ooohh."

Naraku looked away from Izayoi to stare at something else. "What are you doing?" Izayoi looked over Naraku's shoulder to see what he was staring at. "I'm looking at Kanna's mirror to see what Inuyasha is up to." Kanna, sitting in front of him, was holding the mirror so that Naraku could see. "Inuyasha looks like a red little dot walking in the forest," Izayoi commented. Naraku remained quiet for a while and then asked annoyed,"What else do you want, Izayoi?" Izayoi couldn't think about anything to do and replied,"No. Well, I guess I'll go to sleep now. 'Night, dad." Izayoi gave Naraku a quick kiss(to his annoyment) and then left to her room.


	14. Chapter 14

**Chapter14**

Two weeks had passed since Izayoi and Bankotsu had broken up. Izayoi was still deeply depressed about it. Whenever Izayoi went out to see the Turks, Bankotsu wouldn't look at her. If he ever spoke to her, it was about what Izayoi instructed him to do. The next two weeks had been pretty uneventful. Izayoi would just go over to the Turks camp and use the laptops to chat with her other friends or go on Youtube.

It was already near sunset and Izayoi was sitting down at the kitchen table eating dinner with Naraku. She didn't do this often so it was still a bit awkward for her. The things they would talk about were mainly about demons, the Shikon jewel, and Inuyasha. Whenever Izayoi and Naraku talked, Izayoi would learn a bit more about the Feudal Era and her main enemy, Inuyasha. Inuyasha and Izayoi had never actually fought, but he was her enemy in her eyes for the reason that Inuyasha was the one responsible for Kikyo's death.

"Izayoi, I've noticed that you've been acting differently these past couple of weeks. Is there anything wrong?" he asked, getting up from the table. "No. Not really. I just miss my other friends," Izayoi lied. Naraku looked at her before saying,"I see...well just tell me if there's anything you want." Izayoi watched him leave before getting up and going in the direction towards the garden. "I think that it's wise for you not to leave at the moment," Kagura said, approaching Izayoi out of nowhere. "Why not?" "Inuyasha has come again. He was babbling something about 'revenge', as usual," Kagura said, rolling her eyes. "Does Naraku know?" Izayoi asked.

"Yeah. He's out there keeping Inuyasha busy. I'm surprised his friends aren't with him." "You mean the monk and that girl that's a demon slayer or something?" Kagura nodded and left to courtyard. "I think it is best that you stay in here, Izayoi. For your own safety. Inuyasha is very unpredictable," Hakudoshi said, appearing behind Izayoi all of a sudden. Izayoi got startled and said angrily,"You love to pop up like that don't you?" Hakudoshi laughed softly and left in the same direction that Kagura did. "God, that jerk," Izayoi whispered angrily crossing her arms. "_Should I go after him? I don't think Inuyasha will be able to harm me. Dad's there and so are Kagura and Hakudoshi. I wonder if Bankotsu's there, though_," she thought.

Izayoi went to the window overlooking the courtyard and saw Inuyasha waving his sword and yapping away. "_What a loser_!" she thought. Izayoi looked around the area and saw Bankotsu and the Band of Seven nearby, calmly listening to Inuyasha's pointless talk. "_Hmm...now that I think of it, I've never actually seen Bankotsu fight. This'll be interesting_!" Izayoi said. "_I wouldn't mind seeing Inuyasha get killed. It's been a while since I've last experienced someone else's suffering_!" She began to laugh evilly to herself. "Oh gosh! I really **am** like my father, aren't I?" Izayoi said aloud. She began to walk in the direction of her bedroom.

In the battlefield, Inuyasha was still yippering like a little dog and was annoying the Band of Seven, especially Bankotsu. "Naraku, you're going down! Prepare to die!" He started off with a good running start and brandished his sword. "Wind Scar!" Inuyasha yelled. The impact of the Wind Scar hit Naraku and pieces of him fell down from the side, hitting the ground hard. "Damn it, a puppet! Where's the real Naraku?! Answer me!" "Inuyasha, you of all people should know that Naraku wouldn't fight a punk like you personally," Bankotsu teased.

"Shut up, you stupid dead corpse! Who are you to tell me what I should know or not?!" Inuyasha yelled out, standing with his Tetsusaiga pointing at Bankotsu from a distance. "Well, unlike you, I have the power of the sacred jewel shard keeping me alive," Bankotsu replied, unsheilding his Banryu and standing in a battle position, getting ready for Inuyasha to attack.

Passing through the hallway, Izayoi overheard Naraku talking to Kohaku from inside his room and stopped to listen to the conversation. "Kohaku, go tell Hakudoshi and Kagura to go hold off the monk and the demon slayer," Naraku commanded, watching Sango and Miroku heading towards Inuyasha's direction from Kanna's mirror. Kohaku merely responsed,"Yes, Master Naraku." Izayoi saw Kohaku leave. Naraku looked at her blankly. "Come in." Izayoi came in the room and closed the door behind her. "So the monk and demon slayer are going with Inuyasha?"

Naraku nodded and replied,"You look worried, Izayoi. What's on your mind?" Izayoi stayed quiet and didn't answer him. "I want to go see the battle," she said a few moments later. "Do you want to join the battle?" "No. Thanks for the offer, but I'm just gonna go watch the battle. Don't worry, though. I'm not gonna be in the way like the pathetic girl I killed." "Be careful," Naraku said. "Okay, I will. Bye, Dad!" Izayoi left to the courtyard where the battle was taking place.

Izayoi was sitting on the last step on the staircase with a bored expression on her face as she was watching the 'battle'. "_What the hell is Inuyasha doing? He's just standing there, talking_!" she thought angrily. "Wow, this is a certainly a very interesting battle," Izayoi said sarcastically. Bankotsu followed the sound of the voice and saw Izayoi. "_What is __**she**__ doing here_?!" he thought to himself. Inuyasha stared at her in a confused way before realizing who she was. "You! You're the wench that killed Kagome!" "Good boy! Well spotted," Izayoi praised in a mocking way. "You'll pay for Kagome's death!" he yelled back. "Really? Oh no! I'm scared! What are you gonna do? Pee on me?" Izayoi retorted.

The Band of Seven started laughing at Inuyasha, even Bankotsu. "Shut up! Do you really think I'm gonna listen to some girl that's dressed like a whore?!" Inuyasha cried out, furious. "Me?! A whore?!" Izayoi said, pointing to herself and laughing. "Your stupid girlfriend was the whore! I'm mean, did you ever notice that ridiculously short skirt she wore?!" Izayoi and the Band of Seven was still laughing at Inuyasha. Izayoi got up and walked a bit closer to Inuyasha. "And besides, do you **really** think that this is how a whore dresses?" Izayoi asked, looking down at what she was wearing. She was dressed in dark denim capris, red flip flops, and a black T-shirt that said 'I'm With Stupid'. "What does that say?" Izayoi heard Jakotsu's voice speak. She turned around and replied,"Oh, it says 'I'm With Stupid'."

Izayoi looked down at her shirt and said,"Oh look, well what do ya know! I **am **with stupid!" The arrow on her shirt was pointing at Inuyasha and the Band of Seven started laughing even harder. "Shut up! Now you're gonna pay for Kagome's death!" Inuyasha yelled back. "Oh, I'm so sorry! If it'll make you feel better, I'll give you one of her bones for you to chew on!" Izayoi replied in a sweet way. "And as if we would let you harm her. I mean she's pretty cool, for a woman," Jakotsu said. "Well, thanks Jakotsu! Inuyasha's all yours!" Izayoi replied polietly. She was thinking quickly about something to get Bankotsu a little jealous. "Oh and by the way, isn't Hakudoshi supposed to be here? I wanted him to accompany for a walk," she said innocently.

Izayoi saw a look of jealousy on Bankotsu's face as soon as she finished speaking. "No. I saw him and Kagura leave the castle, though," Jakotsu replied. "Ohh...that's a shame. But not as shameful as Inuyasha showing his face around here!" Izayoi replied angrily. "What do you mean by that?!" Inuyasha asked. "Do you really need to ask such a stupid question? You were the one who killed Kikyo just to get the Shikon Jewel!" Izayoi yelled back angrily. "What? Naraku was the one who killed Kikyo!" "Do you really expect me to believe that?! My father would never kill my mother!" Inuyasha looked at her curiously and said slowly,"You're...father and...mother?" "That's right. You heard me. If it wasn't for you, my mother would still be alive!" Izayoi said angrily.

"But at least I was able to kill your stupid girlfriend. Now you know what it feels like to loose someone important to you!" Suddenly, Inuyasha began to run to her, but was halted by Jakotsu's sword. "Oh, Inuyasha! Do you know how handsome you look when you're angry, my little puppy!" Jakotsu said. "I guess I'll have to get rid of you guys first!" Inuyasha replied. "Prepare to die! Backlash Wave!" Izayoi saw his attack heading quickly for the Band of Seven and quickly ran over in front of Bankotsu. A barrier appeared just in time to protect them all. However, Izayoi wasn't so quick enough and she felt a sharp painful blow pushed her down.

"Izayoi!" Bankotsu said, shocked. He knelt beside her as she sat up her arms across her stomach. Her eyes were watering in pain. "_Gosh...I haven't felt this much pain since I fell from the pyramid during cheerleading practice_!" she thought. Inuyasha laughed and said,"See! I told you that you would pay!" Bankotsu looked up at Inuyasha and said angrily to the Band of Seven,"What are you waiting for?! Kill that half-breed!" He looked back down at Izayoi and picked her up. Izayoi, breathing with difficultly, thought_,"That bastard! Well, it could've been worse if it wasn't for the barrier_." Izayoi began to feel dizzy and closed her eyes as Bankotsu carried her inside.

"Inuyasha, did you really think you were going to get away that?" Naraku said. He had decided to come outside and face Inuyasha himself after Bankotsu came in carrying an unconscious Izayoi. "I see that ya finally decided to show your face, Naraku!" Inuyasha yelled out. "Don't think that I'll waste my time on you for long. I just came to show you what happens if anyone harms Izayoi," he replied with a smooth voice. "Don't tell me that you actually care about a pathetic incarnation of yours!" "Pathetic incarnation?" Naraku repeated.

He laughed softly. "My Izayoi...she really did a good job on getting rid of that girl, Kagome." Inuyasha slightly lowered his sword in confusion. _"What?" _he thought. _"Did Naraku just say 'my Izayoi'? Something's definitely up!" _"Izayoi...she's much more than an incarnation. She wasn't born of me alone," Naraku said, confusing Inuyasha even more. "Stop talking in riddles Naraku! Even if I wasn't able to kill her, I'll get rid of you for sure!" Inuyasha said. "Inuyasha, do you really think you'll be able to defeat me or my daughter?" Naraku mocked. _"What?!" _Inuyasha thought alarmed at what he had just heard. _"That girl...Izayoi...is his __**daughter**__?!"_


	15. Chapter 15

**Chapter 15**

Izayoi woke up the next day in her father's room. As she sat up, she winced in pain. "How do you feel, Izayoi?" Izayoi turned and saw Naraku at the room's entrance. He sat down next to her and she replied,"Fine, I guess. Just a little sore." "It was lucky that the barrier protected you from the worst of Inuyasha's attack." "Inuyasha! Where is he?!" Izayoi said suddenly. The last thing she remembered was Bankotsu ordering the Band of Seven to kill Inuyasha. "He's taken care of for the moment," Naraku said. "I suggest you get some more rest. I'll see you again during dinner." He touched the top of her head gently before leaving. Izayoi laid back down and looked through the window. By the looks of it, it was barely noon. Izayoi sighed in frustration and, with nothing better to do, went back to sleep.

"What?!" Sango and Shippo exclaimed. Inuyasha had just finished telling them what had happened when he went off to Naraku's castle. Miroku was sitting down staring intensely at the fire. "Yeah! I didn't believe it at first either!" Inuyasha said. "Who would have thought that Naraku had a daughter?" Sango asked. She stared at Miroku waiting for him to say something. "Well, now that I think of it, that girl did look an awful lot like Naraku. She's even as evil as he is!" Shippo said, jumping on Inuyasha's shoulder.

"So I was right," Miroku suddenly said. "I had the feeling that she wasn't an incarnation. I **was** considering the possibility that the girl was his daughter." "So why didn't say anything about it?!" Inuyasha said, roughly. "I didn't want to rush into any conclusions at the moment. You see, she immediately got my attention when I saw the look in her eyes. It was the same look as Naraku's. That evil look...gave me shivers. Other than that, she was beautiful," he ended. There was a moment of silence before...SMACK! "Don't you even dare say that about the enemy, Miroku!" Sango yelled. Miroku looked at her, with a bright red handprint on his cheek, and replied,"I only said she was beautiful. What's so wrong about that?" "Mi-ro-ku!" Sango threatened. Inuyasha and Shippo sighed as Miroku began to prepare himself from Sango's wrath.

When Izayoi opened her eyes, it was already late afternoon. "God! Did I really doze off that long?!" she said to herself. She got up slowly and went to go take a bath in some warm, relaxing water. The water soothed her pain well. "_I can't believe I let that stupid dog hurt me_," she thought. "_Bankotsu looked worried about me though. I wonder where he is_." She got out and got dressed for dinner. Izayoi walked to the kitchen and sat down on the table. The woman who was normally seen working in the kitchen came in."Is my Lady feeling well?" the woman asked. "Oh, well, I'm feeling better," Izayoi replied.

"What would you like to eat my Lady?" she asked. "Oh, it doesn't matter. Whatever is your specialty," Izayoi said, kindly. "Right away, my Lady." A few minutes later, Naraku came in. "Oh, hey, Dad!" Izayoi said. "Are you going to eat?" he asked. "Yeah. I haven't eaten since last night." The woman came in carrying a tray with some sushi, a bowl of rice, and tea. "This is my specialty, as you requested, my Lady." She set the tray down and spoke to Naraku,"Would you like anything, my Lord?" "The same as Izayoi." Naraku sat down and asked Izayoi,"Are you feeling better?" "Yeah. Did Hakudoshi and Kagura hold off the monk and that other chick?" "Yes. However my puppet didn't last that long against Inuyasha," he said as the woman came back with another tray.

The rest of dinner was passed with Naraku explaining the whole demon puppet thing to Izayoi. After dinner, Izayoi went out to the garden to watch the sunset. She sat on top of a rock and watched some birds fly by. A quick breeze blew some petals off the cherry blossom tree over her and she took out her iPod. Izayoi was listening to 'Let It Go'(by Keyshia Cole ft. Missy Elliot and Lil' Kim) while waiting for the sunset. "Izayoi?" She thought she heard someone call out her name. Izayoi took off one of her headphones and looked behind her. Bankotsu was standing there, staring at her with a look on his face Izayoi had never seen before. "What?" she asked. Bankotsu moved next to her and glanced up.

Still sitting on the rock, Izayoi looked down at him in a disdainful way and said coldly,"Well what do you need? If it's anything related to your job, you'll have to talk to my father about it." "I didn't come for anything about my job," Bankotsu replied. "Then what do you want?" "Why did you do that?" "Do what?" Izayoi asked now listening to 'Icebox'(by Omarion). "Why did you protect us with your barrier?" Izayoi looked away and said rather angrily,"Isn't it obvious?!" She felt tears spill from her eyes and onto her lap. They both remained silent. "_Just go away Bankotsu_!" Izayoi thought. "Izayoi...I-I'm sorry. I'm sorry for not believing you and for treating you badly. I know you...didn't deserve that," Bankotsu said in a soft voice. "Took you long enough to realize that I was telling you the truth," Izayoi whispered loudly.

"I know, but still, can...you...forgive me?" he asked. Izayoi slid off the rock and was going to go inside the castle. "Please! You don't know how much I need you!" he yelled out. Izayoi stopped just about as she was about to open the door. Bankotsu ran over to her and she sighed. She closed her eyes and he said,"Please. I love you and I don't want to loose you." Izayoi turned around and hugged him. She began to cry on his shoulder. "Oh, Bankotsu! I love you, too!" she said. Caught up in the moment, Izayoi and Bankotsu continued to embrace each other. Then Izayoi looked up to face him. She pressed her lips onto Bankotsu's soft ones, wrapping her arms around his neck.

Bankotsu heard her whispering his name again and again. They gently laid down on the grass. Izayoi felt Bankotsu's weight against her stomach. Bankotsu, who was on top of Izayoi, was kissing her like a lovesick dog. "I love you," Bankotsu purred in her ear. Izayoi giggled. "Bankotsu, I think we should go to the castle later on. What do you think?" she purred to him. Izayoi remained looking up at him, waiting for his response. "Yeah! That sounds great. But I wanna be here for a while, until sunset. How does that sound to you?" Izayoi smiled at the thought that being alone with Bankotsu again.


	16. Chapter 16

**Chapter 16**

Izayoi was happier than she had even been in a long time. She and Bankotsu were together again and she was enjoying every moment she had with him. The only issue now was that Hakudoshi was being a jerk to her again. Izayoi supposed that he was jealous that she was once more Bankotsu's girlfriend. During the whole week after she made up with Bankotsu, Hakudoshi teased her every day about her boyfriend and the fact that she was a half-demon. Izayoi thought about how Hakudoshi didn't mind that she was a hanyou whenever she kissed him. So that was enough proof for her to be sure that he was jealous. And he didn't just insult her verbally. Hakudoshi had forcefully kissed Izayoi when Bankotsu had left with Jakotsu. Izayoi simply decided to ignore all of this the best she could.

One day, Elena called Izayoi and asked her if she wanted to go for a walk. "Who are ya going with?" Izayoi asked. "It's just me and Itzsuna." "Well, I guess I can go. Bankotsu's not here anyway. I'll meet you at your camp, then, alright?" Izayoi replied. "Okay. See ya here!" And with that Elena hung up. Izayoi went over to her father and told him that she was going to go see her friends. After Naraku said that it was alright with him, Izayoi walked over to the Turks camp as fast as she could. "Hi, Izayoi! So how are you and Bankotsu doing?" Itzsuna asked as they set off for the woods. "Oh, we're doing just fine. The only problem is Hakudoshi. Remember what I told you guys about him?" Izayoi asked.

"Oh, you mean the guy that you said that he likes you and that he's always trying to kiss you whenever he has a chance to and you don't let him and that's why you don't like him?" Elena said very fast. "Well, that was...a...long answer...but if I guess you put it that way, then, yeah, that's the guy," Izayoi said, feeling slightly confused. "How come you haven't told your dad about him?" Itzsuna asked listening to her MP3. "I don't know if he'll believe me. But let's talk about something else, okay?" "Fine," they replied. "Sooo...have you figured out a way how to get back home?" Izayoi asked, bringing out her PSP. "We haven't really worked on it. I feel too damn lazy to do it. So does everyone else," Itzsuna replied.

"Not everyone. Tseng has been working on it," Elena said, pulling out a mirror. "There you go defending your love again," Itzsuna teased. "I'm not! I'm just saying the truth!" Elena cried out. "Hey, you guys. It's normal for a girl to defend the guy she loves. Take my word for it. I'm willing to risk my life for Bankotsu. He's gotta be the best thing that's ever happened to me," Izayoi said, playing a 'Silent Hill' game**(Author's Note: I'm not sure if there's a 'Silent Hill' game for PSP, but oh well...)**. "Well, he is pretty hot," Itzsuna said reasonably. "He's sexy, not hot! You haven't seen him without his shirt on. The thought makes my mouth water!" Izayoi said, picturing Bankotsu.

"Reno's nothing compared to him. Physically, Reno is like...a dried up twig!" she added. "Why do you say that? We're not talking about Reno," Itzsuna said, slightly flustered. "Whatever! You know you like him!" Elena and Izayoi said at the same time. "Oh, look a bunny!" Elena screamed out suddenly. "I want it!" Itzsuna yelled. Then, she and Elena ran off after the poor rabbit which they had scared off with their loud screams. Izayoi looked up from her PSP and saw them run in the distance.

"Weirdos!" Izayoi said to herself. She went over to a rock and sat down on it. _"Well, at least now I can concentrate on my game_," she thought, shooting some ugly and deformed monsters in a room. After she killed them off, she paused her game and looked up for a moment. Izayoi saw some pretty, mysterious lights glowing faintly in the distance. "What the hell's that?" she whispered. "_Better not even go near it if I don't know what it is_," she thought.

Suddenly she saw the form of person appear a little further away from her. As whoever it was came closer, Izayoi saw that it was a really pretty woman. "_Probably going for a walk_," Izayoi thought. Izayoi looked back to her game, but couldn't help but feel the urge to look at the mysterious woman. What she thought was a little creepy were the eel-like things floating around her. Apparently, they were the cause of the lights Izayoi had seen earlier. The woman approached Izayoi and asked,"What is a young woman like yourself doing here in this forest?" Izayoi turned off her PSP and, thinking quickly, replied,"Oh...I got lost." The woman looked at her thoughtfully and said,"Perhaps I can escort you to your home. Where do you live?" "Uhh...I live in a castle. I'm not sure how far away it is though." "_She must be the daughter of a lord_," the woman thought.

"What's your name?" Izayoi asked. The woman replied,"My name is Kikyo." "Kikyo..." Izayoi said slowly. "_Where have I heard that name before_?"_**"Hey, I was wondering if I could ask you something." Kagura looked at Izayoi and responded,"About what?" Izayoi sighed. "I was wondering if you knew anything about my mother. I tried asking Naraku but he didn't want to go into details." Kagura was silent for a moment. "Well, I don't know much about her or her relationship with Naraku. All I know is that she was a beautiful priestess." "Do you know what her name was?" Izayoi questioned, extremely curious. "Her name was Kikyo."+**_ Izayoi suddenly thought,"_Could this woman be the same person Kagura told me about? Could it be possible that __**she**__ is my mother_?"

Kikyo was looking carefully at Izayoi. A sudden gleam caught her attention. Kikyo's eyes widened. She saw the beautiful pendant Izayoi wore around her neck. It was in the shape of a silver arrowhead with a sparkling ruby in the middle of it. "_That pendant...it looks so familiar_," Kikyo thought. "_Could this girl be_...?" Kikyo remembered giving the very same pendant to her own little girl. She thought the ruby went well with her daughter's red eye color. But that was a long time ago. 15 years to be exact. There was a possibility that her daughter might have lost it. "Where did you get that?" Kikyo asked her. Izayoi looked down and saw her necklace that she wore almost everyday. "Oh, this? I've had this my whole life," Izayoi said, grabbing the pendant and looking at it.

"Who's your mother?" "Huh?" Izayoi asked, caught off guard. "Your mother. Who is she?" "I...I never knew my mother," Izayoi replied. "All I know is that she was a priestess. Her name was Kikyo, too." Izayoi looked at one of the eel-like things and said,"Why do you ask?" "Your necklace looks so familiar. It looks like the one I gave to my daughter when she was an infant," Kikyo explained. "Really? Whatever happened to her?" Izayoi asked. This conversation was becoming very interesting to her all of a sudden. "Her father took her away from me. I began to think about my daughter's safety. You see, even though her father was merely a half-demon at the time, he had tremendous power. She was much safer with him than she was with me. That's why I had to leave her with him. I haven't seen her in almost 15 years," Kikyo explained looking away.

Izayoi was beginning to suspect something. "_I'm sure this isn't all coincidence_," she thought. However she decided to listen more to Kikyo before confirming her suspicions. "May I ask who your father is?" Kikyo asked Izayoi. "Naraku." "Naraku...hmm...he's still alive then." She reached up to stroke one of the eel things. "You shouldn't trust him. He deceives and manipulates others." "Why shouldn't I trust him? He's my father," Izayoi asked. "It doesn't matter if he's your father. He's never been the type to be trusted." Kikyo remained quiet for a moment. "You wouldn't happen to be Izayoi, would you?" "Yes, why?" Izayoi replied. "My daughter's name...was 'Izayoi'," Kikyo said.

Izayoi gasped and said,"Wait, are you saying that...you...**are** my m-mother?" "By everything you told me, yes. You're my daughter. The one that was taken from me by Naraku," Kikyo looked at Izayoi and got a little closer to her. Izayoi asked,"Where have you been all this time?" "I've been from village to village. I would always hope to see you or at least hear something about you," Kikyo confessed. "Father told me that you were a dead priestess. Are you?" "Yes, I am." "If you're...dead...then how did you have me?" Izayoi asked, confused. "There are some things you shouldn't ask. And some there are some questions that will never be answered," Kikyo replied. "How did you meet Naraku?" Izayoi asked.

She had many questions for Kikyo now that she knew that Kikyo was her mother. Kikyo sighed and began to tell her everything that had happened to her. She told Izayoi about how she met Naraku, how she got the Shikon Jewel, and her relationship towards Inuyasha. "Wait a minute, if you hated my father so much, how did you end up having me?" Izayoi asked after Kikyo finished telling her story. "To tell you the truth, it wasn't really my intention to have you. Even though I hated Naraku, you are still very important to me. You were my...reason to live. I couldn't just pretend you never existed. You were my own flesh and blood, despite that the fact that Naraku was your father," Kikyo explained.

She also explained about Kagome and how she was resurrected. "Oh, so that's how you came back, because of that girl, what's-her-name Kagome?" Izayoi asked. "Do you know her?" "Yes. She is my reincarnation," Kikyo replied. "That pathetic girl, your reincarnation?! Oh, please! She doesn't compare to you at all!" Izayoi said in disbelief. In addition to that, Izayoi also asked Kikyo if she knew the reason as to why Naraku wanted Izayoi in the Feudal Era if she was fine back in the 'present' time. "Naraku...he's obviously plotting something. But no. I don't know his reason for having you here," Kikyo said, after putting much thought into it. "Wow! It's getting dark already?! I guess I'd better go home before it gets darker," Izayoi said, looking up at the sky.

"You'd better get going. There are many demons that lurk around here during the night," Kikyo advised. "Okay." Izayoi felt a bit awkward. She didn't know how to say goodbye to Kikyo, now that she found out that she was her mother. "Well, I'll go look for my friends before I loose them. Umm, bye!" Izayoi waved at Kikyo. "Be careful, Izayoi. And remember what I told you about your father," Kikyo called out to her. Izayoi looked back at Kikyo as she disappeared into the forest.

"_Wow! I can't believe that woman was my mom!"_ Izayoi thought. "Hey, Izayoi! I caught it! I caught the bunny!" Itzsuna said, running to her. Elena came running after her a while later, her clothes splattered with mud. "Isn't it cute?!" Elena said petting it. "We're gonna name it 'George'." "Ooo...It's so pretty!" Izayoi squealed, petting the brown and black bunny. "Hey, you guys I need to go home. I told my dad that I was gonna be back before sunset. He doesn't want me to be out too late, not without Bankotsu." "Where is Bankotsu anyway?" Elena asked as they set off. "I think he's training with his friends or something," Izayoi explained.

"Wow! At least he's hardworking. Not like that slob Reno that's just lazing around all day!" Elena said. "Yeah, Reno's so useless most of the time!" Itzsuna agreed. Once they had reached the castle, Itzsuna and Elena looked up at the castle in awe. "It must be awesome to live here!" Itzsuna exclaimed. "Not really. There's no T.V. or computer here or anything like that. It's just a really big house with a lot of space," Izayoi said, opening the gate. "Anyway, see ya later, guys!" "Alright then, bye!" Elena said. "Bye!" Itzsuna yelled, as they walked away back to their camp.

Izayoi was walking to her room still thinking about what Kikyo had told her. _"So it was all a lie!"_ she thought. _"Inuyasha __**wasn't**__ the one responsible for my mother's death. I can't believe my father was the one who killed her!" _Izayoi was having a hard time accepting all of this new information. Now she knew what Bankotsu meant by saying that her father was evil. Apparently, Naraku didn't care if Kikyo never saw her child again. She hadn't told Itzsuna and Elena that she had met her mother. "_I'll go talk to Kagura_." Kagura was the only person she could trust on the matter.

Izayoi knew she wouldn't tell Naraku about her encounter with Kikyo because she hated Naraku more than she hated anyone else. Hoping very much not to bump into Hakudoshi, she set off in search of Kagura. Izayoi knew that if she met Hakudoshi, he would know that she had seen Kikyo and he would surely tell Naraku. Fortunately, Izayoi found Kagura in the garden. Apparently, Kagura was daydreaming while lying on the grass, looking up at the sky. "Kagura, can I tell you something?" Kagura sat up and saw Izayoi walk to her. "What is it?" she asked, as Izayoi sat down beside her. Izayoi sighed and said,"Well...I met my mom today when I went for a walk with my friends."

"What happened? Did you talk to her?" "Yeah." Izayoi began to explain the whole thing to Kagura. She told her of how Naraku was the one that killed Kikyo. Izayoi also mentioned that Kikyo recognized her because of her necklace and how Naraku had taken her away from Kikyo when she was only an infant. "Sooo...basically, she told you all she knows about Naraku and what happened between her and Inuyasha, right?" "Yeah," Izayoi replied. "As if I didn't need anything else on my mind." Kagura was simply sitting with her legs close to her waist and then pulled out her fan, started fanning herself. "So, how did Kikyo look and what was your first impression?" Izayoi wasn't telling much detail and well, she ended with the whole Kikyo disappeared dramatically with soul collectors. "I see that's very interesting." "Yeah, I wanted to tell more, but I didn't want to bore you with rest of the details. Well, I better get some rest now. 'Night, Kagura!" Izayoi waved her hand lazily and left.


	17. Chapter 17

_Author's Note: Thanks everyone for your reviews!! My friend and I are in a rush to finish the story before summer starts. We're already working on chapter 25! Also this chapter is really short because we ran out of ideas! Sorry! Hope you can still enjoy the chapter!_

**Chapter 17**

In the next month, Izayoi and Bankotsu spent their time doing all sorts of things together. Sometimes, the Turks would accompany them in their activities. One day, Izayoi and Bankotsu went to the beach for a date. Once there, they went for a swim. Bankotsu and Izayoi splashed playfully at each other for a long while. While resting on the beach for a few minutes, Izayoi began to build a small sand castle. "Bankotsu, how does it look?! Isn't it amazing?!"

He smiled and gave her a gentle kiss on the cheek. Izayoi blushed. "I looks good!" he said, putting an arm around her shoulders. "My sister and I used to go to the beach and build castles. It was a good way to pass the time." "I hadn't come to the beach in a long time." The sea's waters was clashing against the rocks, making a big splash. Bankotsu was looking at Izayoi intensely.

"I used to go to the beach more often when I was a kid," he said. "But then, the whole mercenary business kept us busy so I stopped going too." "I just stopped going because I hardly had time. I would go out with friends more than spend time with my mom and my sister. Anyways, Bankotsu, would you lay down on the sand?" Then he asked Izayoi in an annoyed tone, "Why do you want me to lay down on the sand?" Izayoi smiled and said,"Because...I want to bury you in the sand." "Hey! I was buried for 10 years**(Author's Note: or was it 15 years?)**" Izayoi came closer to Bankotsu, kissing him passionately. Bankotsu wrapped his strong arms around her waist, pulling her closer to him.

"You had to ruin the whole 'buried' thing, didn't you?" Bankotsu smirked at her and replied,"Yes, but..." Bankotsu sighed before continuing,"I just want to have you in my arms. That's all." Izayoi nodded happily. She then got up and announced,"Okay. How about I teach you something I used to play back home?" Bankotsu looked confused. "What?" "Volleyball." She threw a volleyball at him that she had borrowed from Itzsuna earlier. "Volleyball?" "Yeah. Can you help me put up the net?" He smiled sweetly and said," Fine." After finishing putting up the net, Izayoi began to teach Bankotsu how to properly spike the ball. "No, no. You're doing it all wrong! You have to hold it up and then bump it like this!"

Then Izayoi hit the volleyball over the net. Bankotsu caught the ball. "Hit it over the net!" Izayoi yelled. Bankotsu served it over the net. Izayoi hit it but ended up hitting the net. "Nice one!" Izayoi turned and saw the Turks approaching. "You guys are here?!" Reno ran over to them and hugged Izayoi really hard so that she couldn't breathe. "Okay, okay. You're hugging me a little too tight." He immediately let go when he saw Bankotsu glaring at him and then said,"How about we play a game right here and now!" Elena, Itzsuna, Tseng and Rude were all behind Reno with a "What?!" expression on their faces. Itzsuna stepped in front Reno. "Why not? I might beat you!" "Oh yeah? Then it's on!" he yelled. They divided into teams: Itzsuna, Izayoi, and Bankotsu against Elena, Tseng, and Reno.

Rude was going to be in charge of the score. After quickly explaining the rotating process to Bankotsu, Izayoi spiked the ball over the net. Tseng tried to hit it, but missed. "In your face, Reno!!" Itzsuna yelled. "Shut up! We're gonna whoop your asses! You'll see!" Reno replied. Izayoi threw the ball to Bankotsu. He managed to hit it over but Elena hit it. Izayoi spiked it back, but Reno was quick and hit it over again. Itzsuna was about to hit it but missed. "Ha! That's for what you said earlier!" Reno teased. "Shut the hell up Reno! That was just lucky!" Itzsuna screamed back. After about 15 minutes into the game, Itzsuna was already getting really pissed. Reno's team was winning with 10 to 5. "Told you we'd win!" Reno laughed.

"Just wait 'til this is over. You won't be laughing when I kick your ass!" Itzsuna replied. "I'd like to see you try!" he mocked, hitting the ball over again and scoring another point. Within another 5 minutes, they had already scored 12 to 5. Itzsuna yelled in frustration and ran after Reno who was still teasing her. Elena and the other Turks rolled their eyes. "Well, good game!" Tseng said walking after them. "Well, I'd better go before they tear each other to shreds!" Elena sighed. "Yeah. Take this to Itzsuna. I borrowed it from her," Izayoi said, handing over the net and volleyball to Elena. "Sure. See ya later then! And you two behave!" she said as she and Rude walked off. Izayoi blushed as Bankotsu came over to her and hugged her. "Let's go. I'm tired," she said. "Fine." Izayoi and Bankotsu got dressed quickly. It was still kind of early but they set off to go eat something and see what they could do to pass the rest of the day.


	18. Chapter 18

**Chapter 18**

The next day, Izayoi woke up hearing her phone ring with 'The Anthem' (by Pitbull ft. Lil' John). She picked it up only to hear Elena's voice say loudly,"Wake up sleepy head!" "Elena why are you calling so early!" "Early?! It's 12: 30!" she replied. "Well, that's like waking up at 6 for me," Izayoi said, getting up from bed. "What do you need?" "Oh, I just called to talk," she replied. "Well I'm listening." "So...nothing has happened? With your family or something?" "No. We're all fine...for now, I mean. You know how a problem suddenly comes up sometimes," Izayoi replied.

"So do you and Bankotsu have plans for tonight?" Elena asked randomly. "Yeah. He said he's gonna take me on a boat ride later on." "That sounds so romantic!!" Elena said excitedly. "Yeah! I can't wait!" Izayoi said. "Well, I guess I'll leave you to do your business with Bankotsu!" "What's that supposed to mean?!" "Nothing," Elena replied suddenly. "Bye!" "Wait, don't hang u--" Izayoi began to say. Elena had hung up. Izayoi got ready, how she usually did every morning. She wasn't really that hungry so she decided to skip breakfast. She went out to go find Bankotsu. "Aren't you going to eat?" Izayoi turned and saw Kohaku suddenly appear behind her.

"Nah. I'm not that hungry," Izayoi replied as she and Kohaku walked outside. "Hey, can you come with me? I'm gonna go hang out with my friends." "Uh, well that depends on what Naraku says..." "Don't worry. I'll go ask him. Stay here," Izayoi said, running back inside. Once she reached his room, she opened the door without knocking and said, "Father, can Kohaku come with me to go visit my friends? Please?!" "Where's Bankotsu?" "I don't know, but can he come with me instead?" Izayoi asked. "Fine. As long as he doesn't escape," he replied. "Okay," Izayoi said. She ran back outside where Kohaku was still there, waiting for her. "He said it was fine by him, as long as you don't try to escape or anything."

Izayoi and Kohaku walked out of the castle. During the walk, Izayoi asked,"Hey, Kohaku what do you do all day?" "I don't know. Just whatever Naraku tells me to do," he replied. "Yeah, but don't you get bored, 'cause I do." "There's nothing else to do." "Yes there is. You can come hang out with me and my friends. Or play on my PSP. Or use my phone or my iPod," Izayoi replied. Kohaku stared at her blankly. "You have no idea on what I just said right?" Kohaku shook his head and Izayoi sighed. "Well neither did Bankotsu but he learned how to use all that eventually," she replied. "Look I'll let ya use my iPod." She turned on the iPod and scrolled through the songs until she played 'Low' (by Flo Rida ft. T-Pain). She showed him that how he was supposed to put on the headphones. As they continued to walk, Izayoi turned around and saw Kohaku staring deeply at the iPod. "How do you get music in this? Does it come inside already?" he asked.

"No. You have to download it from the Internet and then you'll be able to listen to it on there," Izayoi explained. Kohaku still looked confused and Izayoi sighed. She took out her phone and said,"Look. I'm going to download a song from the Internet into my phone." She went to the Internet and after seeing the still confused look on Kohaku's face, she added,"This is a phone." After looking for the song that Itzsuna told her about, she managed to find 'Sexy Movimiento' (by Wisin y Yandel). Izayoi downloaded it onto her phone, with Kohaku looking over her shoulder. Izayoi listened to the song saying,"This song is badass! I love Wisin y Yandel!" "Who?" "Wisin y Yandel are the guys who sing this song. You probably didn't understand what the song said 'cause it's in Spanish," Izayoi explained. "You know a different language?" he asked. "Well, some of my friends back home can speak Spanish, so I understand most of it. I have trouble speaking it, though," she confessed.

"Hey Izayoi!" Elena walked over to them as they got to the Turks campsite. "Hi Elena! Where's everyone else?" "I'm not sure. Where's Bankotsu?" Elena asked, noticing that he wasn't there. "I couldn't find him, so I brought Kohaku with me instead. He's a servant of my dad's," Izayoi explained. "Oh," Elena said, giving Kohaku a smile. "So what do you wanna do?" "I was wondering if I could use your laptops for a while." "Sure!" Elena brought out her laptop and Izayoi immediately connected her iPod to it. "Okay. Let's see if I can find another song Reno told me about," she said, Kohaku sitting beside her looking amazed.

A few moments of searching later and she found 'Sensual Seduction' (by Snoop Dogg) and 'Fatal' (by J. Holiday) and showed Kohaku how she put the songs into her iPod. Izayoi then checked MySpace to see if any of her friends were online, but them remembered that most of them were on their summer vacation. Before she knew it, it was already getting dark. "Don't ya have somebody waiting for you?" Elena asked slyly. "What? Oh my god! I totally forgot about that!" Izayoi exclaimed. "Come on Kohaku! We gotta go!" "Uhh...okay," he said as Izayoi grasped his arm and ran off back to the castle as fast as she could.

When she got back, Izayoi dropped off Kohaku at her father's room first. "Here's Kohaku, Dad. He didn't try to run away or anything," she said quickly before running off to her room to get ready for her date. After putting on her prettiest kimono and fixing herself up as best as she could, Izayoi ran towards the entrance. She paused for a moment to catch her breath before going outside, where she saw Bankotsu waiting for her. "Hey Izayoi. You ready?" Bankotsu approached her and hugged her as she replied,"Yeah. Let's go."


	19. Chapter 19

**Chapter 19**

The rest of the Turks had arrived at the camp just after Izayoi and Kohaku had left. "Where were you guys?" Elena asked, as she ate some chips. "We went to go explore a bit and kind of got lost for a while," Itzsuna explained. "So what have you done all day?" "Oh nothing really. Izayoi came by to visit for a while. She left just now," Elena said yawning. "Really?" Tseng said flopping down on a chair. "She left in a hurry though. She was almost late for her date," Elena continued. "That right! She has a date with Bankotsu tonight!" Itzsuna said. "Let's go spy on them. What do say, Elena? You wanna come?"

"I'll come!" Reno said excitedly. "Why? Just so you can pretend that Izayoi's kissing you instead of Bankotsu?" Tseng blurted. "No!" Reno said defensively. "Yeah right," Rude said unexpectedly. "Anyway," Elena interrupted loudly. "Sure let's go!" "Well count me out," Tseng said. "Haven't you all got something better to do than spy on them?" "No," Reno, Itzsuna, and Elena said together. Tseng sighed and looked at Rude. "I'm not going either. What they do is none of my business," he said. "Fine," Reno said. "We don't want boring people with us anyways," Itzsuna added. Reno, Itzsuna, and Elena got a couple of binoculars and left. "Good luck," Tseng yelled after them. "Thanks!" Reno yelled back.

Izayoi and Bankotsu arrived at the nearest lake. Bankotsu helped Izayoi into the boat before getting in himself. Izayoi looked up at the beautiful full moon. Bankotsu couldn't have picked a more perfect night for their date. "Izayoi?" She turned around when he spoke her name. "I love you," she said simply. He kissed her on the forehead. "I love you too."

"Oww, Reno! That was my foot! And I'm wearing flip-flops!" Itzsuna said in a loud whisper. "Sorry! It wasn't my fault you were in way!" "Are you saying it's my fault that you--" Itzsuna said. "Will you two shut up?!" Elena warned in a deadly whisper. "Do want them to find out that we're spying on them?!" "No," Reno and Itzsuna said shamefully. "Then be quiet," she said looking for the binoculars.

"Oh Bankotsu! This is so romantic!" Izayoi exclaimed. "I've always wanted to go on a boat ride." "I knew my princess would enjoy it," Bankotsu replied, caressing her face. He stopped the boat in the middle of the lake. Izayoi moved closer to him. She rested her head on his shoulder as they embraced in the moonlight. "_This is the perfect date_," Izayoi thought. She stared at the rippling water, listening to the sound of crickets. An owl hooted in the distance as she closed her eyes, taking in the moment. Bankotsu placed a hand on Izayoi's head and held her closer to him. "_I must be the luckiest guy in the world! No other guy has a girl like my Izayoi_." He took in the sweet scent of her hair as he ran his fingers through it.

"Awww...how sweet!" Elena sighed as she looked at Izayoi and Bankotsu through her binoculars. "What are they doing?" Itzsuna asked. "Use your binoculars," Elena said. "Well, I would, but **somebody** doesn't want to lend them to me!" "Hey, these are mine! You should've brought your own instead!" Reno argued. "I couldn't find mine!" "That's not my problem!" he whispered back angrily. "Just lend me yours for a little while," Itzsuna said. "NO!" "Shhh!" Elena whispered. Reno and Itzsuna immediately shut up and crouched lower behind the bush. Apparently, their whispering was loud enough that Bankotsu and Izayoi turned around to see if anyone was nearby. "See what you two idiots did?!" Elena whispered angrily. "Sorry!" they replied. "Reno, you look through the binoculars on one side and Itzsuna look through the other one." "Fine," Reno replied.

"What was that?" Izayoi asked still hugging Bankotsu. "Probably just some animal," he replied. "Anyway, why are you nervous? You know nothing will harm you as long as you're with me." Izayoi smiled and lightly kissed his lips. "Promise that you'll always be there to protect me no matter what." "I promise," Bankotsu replied. Izayoi nuzzled her nose against his. "I love you. I love you. I love you!" she said. Bankotsu kissed her many times rapidly on her cheek. Izayoi giggled and cuddled into his neck. Bankotsu kissed the top of her head and stroked her hair once more. "WHAT THE HELL, RENO?!" Bankotsu and Izayoi turned around suddenly and saw Itzsuna hit Reno on the head from behind a bush. "WHAT"S YOUR PROBLEM CRAZY B--?!" "Great! You guys did perfectly!" Elena interrupted sarcastically while clapping. Izayoi sighed and said,"We can never have any privacy can we?" "Apparently not," he said looking over at the trio arguing. "Bankotsu, can we go home and continue our date there?" "That's a good idea," he replied and rowed the boat the shore. Izayoi held onto Bankotsu's arm and, with her head held high, walked back to the castle, leaving behind the Turks to continue their argument.


	20. Chapter 20

**Chapter 20**

"Are you planning on getting rid of Inuyasha?" Hakudoshi asked. He and Naraku were staring through Kanna's mirror, observing Inuyasha and his friends. Naraku remained silent as he thought over what Inuyasha had done to Izayoi the last time he had come around the castle. "What I need is to make sure that Inuyasha won't be able to harm her if he ever comes across Izayoi." "Don't you have Bankotsu in charge of that?" Hakudoshi asked. "I've noticed she sees him as a lover not as a guardian," Naraku replied. Hakudoshi was quiet as he thought about how to approach his idea without the possibility of angering him. "Well, I have a suggestion. Maybe you should...give his job to someone else. That way she wouldn't be allowed to see him any longer," Hakudoshi said. Naraku stared intensely at him.

"What exactly are you trying to say?" Hakudoshi looked down as he spoke,"I...fell in love with your daughter the first time I saw her. She_ is_ aware of it. And...I think she deserves to be with someone worthy of the demon blood in her. Even if she is...a half-demon." "So you are saying that you want to look after my daughter?" Naraku asked. "Yes," he replied shortly. "And why do you think that you will make a better guardian than Bankotsu? Either way, the point is that I don't want Izayoi to see her guardian as a lover," Naraku said. "But wouldn't you trust me to be her guardian and lover more than Bankotsu?" Naraku didn't reply. "Getting to the point, I...want to ask you for Izayoi's hand in marriage," Hakudoshi ended. "It's fine by me." "I promise I will protect her with my life. And as for Bankotsu, I suggest that you forbid her from seeing him any longer." "Don't worry about him. I'll see to that myself," Naraku replied. Hakudoshi smirked to himself. _"Izayoi, soon you will be __**my **__beautiful wife."_

Izayoi and Bankotsu arrived at the castle and went inside to her room without making a sound. "So what do you wanna do now?" Bankotsu asked randomly. Bankotsu picked up Izayoi, carried her bridal style to her bed, and gently placed her down. Izayoi embraced him, simply wanting to spend time with him. "Now, where did we leave off?" Bankotsu asked. "Right about here," Izayoi said, kissing him softly.

Kagura was roaming the halls when she overheard some servant girls talking. She decided to go find out what all the commotion was about. "Oh, did you see how she cut her hair?! She said that she cut it herself. I didn't tell her it looked horrible though," one of the girls said in a snobby way. A older looking girl said,"Yeah, I know! What the hell was she thinking?!" The girl with short brown hair said in know-it-all voice,"Did you heard about the princess?!" The oldest girl asked,"What? What happened?" The short-haired girl said,"The princess is going to marry some guy."

The other two servants became even more interested."Really? Do tell!" The short-haired girl quickly said,"The incarnation of Master Naraku's, Hakudoshi, told me himself. He informed me that I was going to help out in the preparations with all of the other servants." "Really? How come we didn't know?" "Beats me. They probably expect for the word to spread." Kagura walk up to the group. "Oh, Kagura. We didn't see you there!" they said in a flustered way before bowing to her. Kagura disregarded this and asked,"Tell me, what's this commotion that Izayoi's getting married?" One of the girls replied,"All I know is that she's getting married but I don't know with who exactly." Kagura put her fan up to her lips and said," Hmmm...I guess I'll just have to figure that out myself." With that, Kagura left the girls alone and continued to walk the hallways. _"So, I guess I'll have to get Hakudoshi to tell me."_

Izayoi and Bankotsu were standing at the door of her room, finishing up their kissing session. "Tonight will be a night I'll remember forever!" Izayoi said, caressing his face. "Glad you liked it," he replied, hugging her closer to him. Bankotsu moved down for one last kiss before leaving. Izayoi stared at him as he left. "I wish there was a way to show you how much I love you Bankotsu," she whispered quietly.

"I've told some servants about the preparations." Kagura was looking for Hakudoshi to question him when she heard him talking to Naraku. "I think we have sufficient amount of time until your wedding. There's no need to rush the servants," Naraku replied smoothly. _"Hakudoshi's getting married too? I wonder who the 'lucky' girl is!" _Kagura thought as she hid slightly behind a wall. "I know. I just...can't wait until my marriage with Izayoi. She is, if I may say, very beautiful," Hakudoshi replied in a silky voice. _"What?!" _Kagura thought. _"He's getting married to Izayoi!" _Kagura then walked to Izayoi's room, hoping that she was there.

Izayoi was lying on her bed listening to music when she heard Kagura call her. She got up and went to go see what she needed. "Oh, hey Kagura! What's wrong?" she asked, noticing the worried look on Kagura's face. "I don't mean to be the bearer of bad news but I think you really need to know this," Kagura said quickly."What?" Izayoi asked, getting worried herself. Kagura sighed and said,"You're getting married." "What?!" "And that's not the worst of it." "What could be worse than getting married even if I don't want to?" Izayoi asked walking over to her window.

"You're getting married to...Hakudoshi," Kagura said in a low voice, sitting down on the bed. It took a while for Izayoi to realized what Kagura had just said. "WHAT?!" she yelled. "Why am I getting married to **him**?! I hate him!" "I know but apparently Naraku's fine with the marriage. Remember when you told me that Hakudoshi bit you?" "Yeah." "Well, when a male demon does that to a female, he marks her as his mate! I didn't tell you, because I didn't think Hakudoshi would actually get this far," Kagura confessed. Izayoi was speechless and stomped out of her room to go look for her father. "What ever you say, you didn't hear it from me, okay?" Kagura called after her. "Okay!" Izayoi yelled back.

Bankotsu was just climbing down the steps at the entrance of the castle when he heard Naraku call his name. He turned around and, before he could say anything, Naraku said,"Bankotsu, I don't want you seeing Izayoi again." "But I'm supposed to look after her," he replied, somewhat angry. "This is...only temporary. I'm dismissing you from your job for a couple of weeks or so," Naraku said coolly. "How come?" Bankotsu asked. "Family issues," Naraku said shortly. "I would...appreciate it if you don't come around here any longer. Not until I inform you it is okay to do so." Knowing that Naraku was a powerful demon and the one who resurrected him and the rest of the Band of Seven, Bankotsu didn't argue. He only slightly bowed before leaving the castle grounds. _"Did he find out about my relationship with Izayoi?"_ he thought. _"Nah, he didn't seem angry or anything." _

Izayoi was still looking for her father. She didn't find him in his room and was now roaming the halls hoping to bump into him. Izayoi then spotted him walking in her direction. "Why are you making me marry Hakudoshi?!" she asked as he got nearer. He didn't reply, but merely continued walking. "I'm pretty sure you're smart enough to realize that I hate him, so why the hell did you agree to the marriage?!" Naraku still remained silent. "I bet you did this 'for my own good'. You hardly even know me. You weren't always there for me! So what makes you think that you can make decisions for me without even telling me?!" Izayoi persisted. "Do not question my authority, Izayoi!" Naraku replied angrily.

"You are still my daughter and you have to obey what I say. Do you understand?" Izayoi suddenly looked taken aback. "Yes, sir," Izayoi replied looking down. She was so angry at the whole marriage prospect that she didn't realized that she had crossed the line when speaking to Naraku. "Then, you are not to argue against it. Is that clear?" he asked, still in a cold tone of voice. Izayoi didn't look at him. She had never angered her father before and didn't want to meet his eyes. "Izayoi, look at me," Naraku added. "I said: do I make myself clear?" Izayoi looked at him and replied,"Yes, sir." With one last look at her, Naraku left Izayoi and went to his room. Izayoi started to cry silently to herself. She couldn't even rely on her father for support. "_I wish I had my mom here with me_," Izayoi thought. It took her a while to remember that her mother was still alive. "_Wait a minute, I** can** talk to Mom about it! I'll go see if I can find her tomorrow_!" And with that thought in mind, she went to her room and drifted off into an uneasy sleep.


	21. Chapter 21

**Chapter 21**

Izayoi was up earlier than usual the following morning. She got dressed in some comfortable pink warm-ups and white tee and picked up her hair in a ponytail. She sneaked out of the castle as quietly as possible and went to the forest where she first met her mother. After wandering around for a while, she got tired and sat down beside a river. As she stared at the sparkling water, she saw her mother's reflection and looked back. "What are you doing here so early, Izayoi?" Kikyo asked, sitting down beside her. "I was looking for you because...Father's forcing me to marry someone I really hate." Izayoi felt tears welling up in her eyes and said,"You were right about him! He can't be trusted!"

She suddenly burst into tears and Kikyo gently placed a hand on her head. "Who is he forcing you to marry?" she asked. Izayoi sniffed and replied,"One of his incarnations. Hakudoshi." She paused before going on. "He is in love with me, if you can call it that. But I know that he only desires me. Bankotsu's the one who really loves me." Kikyo looked thoughtfully at her. "Bankotsu? The leader of the Band of Seven? He is your lover?" "Yes. Father hired him to protect me. And since he was with me a lot, I fell in love with him in time," Izayoi said. "And when is the marriage?" Kikyo asked, stroking Izayoi's hair. "I don't know. I tried asking Father why he was willing to just hand me over to Hakudoshi and he just got angry at me for 'questioning his authority'," Izayoi cried. "And then he told me not to argue against it any more."

Izayoi wiped away her tears and continued. "I was better off in the present time. I don't know why Father wanted me here. I've faced more problems here than I ever did in my entire life." Kikyo thought for a moment before replying,"In this life, one must go through these difficulties and obstacles in order to be stronger. I know this is true because even though I suffered much when I thought that Inuyasha had betrayed me, in the end that suffering was what made me stronger." Izayoi listened to her words carefully, remembering what her mother told her about how Naraku had tricked Inuyasha and Kikyo into thinking that they betrayed one another. "I think you should be heading home before Naraku finds out that you came here without his permission," Kikyo suggested. "Oh, that's right. He's already angry at me for questioning him," Izayoi said, getting up. "I guess I'll be leaving, then." "Don't worry Izayoi. Everything will eventually be back to normal," Kikyo said soothingly, patting Izayoi's head. Izayoi gave her a small smile before leaving back to the castle. However, Izayoi was unaware that a saimyosho had followed her and saw her talking to Kikyo.

Back at the castle, Naraku had just heard from the saimyosho that Izayoi had gone to meet Kikyo. As he heard Izayoi walk down the hallway, he called out,"Izayoi, come here." Izayoi paused outside the door. _"How the hell did he find out I went out?" _she thought. Nevertheless, she went into his room. "What is it?" "So you met Kikyo?" he asked. "How did you know?" Izayoi asked, confused. "I have my ways," Naraku said curtly. "So what did you two talk about?" Izayoi felt furious all of a sudden and snapped,"That none of your business!" "What did I tell you just last night Izayoi?" Naraku said, incensed. "I can't remember," Izayoi lied.

Naraku glared at her for a while before saying,"I assume that Kikyo was telling you all about how I can't be trusted, am I right?" "And she's right. If you actually cared about me, you wouldn't just give me away to whoever asks for my hand. And you say you're my father?!" Izayoi said incensed. Naraku smirked. "Don't you realize that Kikyo is manipulating you into going against me?" "You're one to talk! She's told me of all the evil things you did to everyone. And actually, I feel ashamed when people find out that you're my father! I love my mother much more than you! At least she's there for me whenever I need her!" Izayoi retorted. Naraku got up and Izayoi got a little startled.

Was she actually pissing him off? Then he said rather calmly,"You prefer your pathetic human mother?" "Pathetic?" Izayoi asked incredulously. "You're saying that my mother is _pathetic?!_ Look who's talking!" "Izayoi, I'm a full demon. You, on the other hand, are a mere half-demon. Quite sad, actually. My own daughter...a useless half-demon," Naraku said cunningly. Izayoi gasped. She then said infuriated,"Oh please! Mother said that you were a pitiful half-demon as well before you got a hold of the stupid Shikon jewel!" "My Izayoi," Naraku said, laughing softly. "You speak of the jewel as if it was worthless. And did you know, if someone were to offer me...let's just say...another Shikon jewel in exchange for you, I would gladly accept the offer. That's how much I value it." Izayoi stared lividly at him.

"What I'm trying to say is that the Shikon jewel is worth much more than you, half-demon," he said silkily. Izayoi, furious at what she had just heard, left the room after he finished speaking. She walked outside and flopped down the pond, her usual hangout. She couldn't stop the tears flowing from her eyes. She couldn't believe what her father had just told her. He actually teased her for being a half-demon. _"I wish I could just go back home!"_ Izayoi thought. _"I was so much happier there than I am here!" _She then felt someone walk up to her. She saw Hakudoshi's reflection in the water. "What's wrong, Izayoi?" he asked. "Do need to ask such a stupid question?" she said. He started to stroke her hair. "Just leave me alone," Izayoi said. "I really don't feel like arguing right now." "Fine. We'll talk some other time," Hakudoshi replied. He left without another word. Izayoi didn't get why the people here were so against half-demons. Even her father despised them. "I wish I could talk to Mom again," she said and suddenly burst into tears once more. _"Why the hell did Dad even get involved with Mom? She is a __**pathetic **__human after all,"_ she thought.

Hakudoshi was walking the hallways before going into Naraku's room. "Hakudoshi, what do you need? I'm very busy." Naraku was sitting in his room, sipping some tea calmly. He then glared at Hakudoshi with an annoyed look on his face. Hakudoshi stared at Naraku. Then he sighed, stepped in the room, and closed the door behind him. "It doesn't look like you're busy to me,"Hakudoshi stated smoothly. Naraku ignored his comment and took another sip of his tea. "Naraku, are you ignoring me?" There was still no answer from Naraku. "Naraku!" he said sharply.

Hakudoshi had gotten angry that Naraku wasn't paying even the slightest attention to him. Naraku gently placed his half-finished tea down on the low table in front of him before speaking up. "I heard you the first time, Hakudoshi. Now, please tell me what you want before I lose my patience." Hakudoshi stayed where he was for a moment, then sat down with Naraku. "I saw my beautiful Izayoi crying outside. Seems to me that something happened to between you two." Naraku knew where this was leading to. It was to be expected. "Izayoi and me just happened to...have a discussion that's all." Hakudoshi narrowed his eyes He moved a bit from his seat, a little closer to Naraku.

"I have the feeling that it was something more than a discussion." Naraku heaved a sigh and responded,"Is this going somewhere, Hakudoshi?" "You made her cry! What did you tell her?!" he asked, his voice rising steadily with every word he spoke. He had finally drawn the line and Naraku stood up and replied, "That...is none of your business." "Izayoi **is** my business. She is to be my bride," he argued back in defense. "That may be true, but you still are my incarnation and I possess your heart. If you dare test my patience Hakudoshi, I will kill you." Naraku left to the door. Hakudoshi, feeling insulted, retorted, "You forget that I can do as I please. I might even consider killing you if you get in my way." Naraku stopped, turned around to the face him, and said,"Are you threatening me? So foolish to think that you're my equal." Naraku left with a smirk on his face.


	22. Chapter 22

_Author's Note: Okay! This is finally THE chapter! Skip this chapter if you don't like reading lemons!_

**Chapter 22**

Three weeks later, after Izayoi had her argument with Naraku, she kept away from everyone else. She wasn't allowed to go anywhere beyond the castle. Izayoi passed away the time mostly by talking to her friends on the phone. She had told them about her marriage to Hakudoshi and that she wasn't allowed to go out or meet Bankotsu anymore. Since they were afraid that Naraku might do something to them if they showed up at the castle, they only way they could comfort Izayoi was by phone. Also, Izayoi didn't want to anger Naraku and disobey him by leaving the castle grounds. Ever time Izayoi hung up her cell phone, she would have to think of something to do for the rest of the day. Occasionally, Izayoi would talk to Kagura and Kohaku for brief moments. She would also try to avoid meeting Naraku and Hakudoshi. Once in a while, Hakudoshi would try to talk to her, but Izayoi usually remained silent and would walk away.

One day, during the evening, Izayoi called Kagura for a secret meeting to explain her plans to meet with Bankotsu. She hadn't seen him for weeks and long to be with him for a while. "Kagura, I want you to tell Bankotsu, without anyone noticing that something is going on, to meet me here tonight when everyone in the castle is asleep." Kagura smiled evilly. "So how exactly are you going to make sure that your plan is successful?" Izayoi pondered for a while and suddenly snapped her fingers.

"I got it! You're going to check the castle, and then, when the coast is clear, you tell me. From there, you're gonna pretend to be me, asleep, and then I'll sneak off with Bankotsu!" Kagura nodded her head and replied," Okay. Is that all I have to do? Well, then I hope this works out because if you get caught, there'll be nothing I can do for you from that point." "Well, I really hope so, too. You never know until you try." Later that evening, Kagura finished checking the entire castle, as planned, before she sneaked back to Izayoi's room. "Izayoi, everything is clear! You can go now," Izayoi quickly hugged Kagura. "Bye, Kagura and thanks for everything." "You're welcome and good luck!" she replied. A few minutes later, Izayoi went over to her window and waved down at Bankotsu, who was waiting for her. She carefully went out the door, to the outdoors. Bankotsu quickly embraced her. She held his hand and then quietly escaped out of the castle grounds.

"I really, really missed you, Bankotsu!" Izayoi exclaimed once they were far away from the castle. "I missed you too, Izayoi!" Bankotsu replied kissing her passionately. Izayoi looked up at the beautiful full moon and asked,"So...is this your place?" "Actually, it's Jakotsu's, but I use it whenever I need some time to myself," he explained, wrapping his arms around Izayoi's waist. They walked inside to make up for the time lost.

"Wanna try some of the special sake I was saving up for a night like this?" Bankotsu asked, handing Izayoi a little cup of bell flower sake. Izayoi stared at it for a while, as if she wasn't sure whether she should try it or not. She took the cup and drank the sake. "Wow! This tastes pretty good!" Izayoi said. After Bankotsu drank his cupful of sake, Izayoi slowly approached him. As their lips connected, she felt like she was in heaven as she was getting to spend time with Bankotsu without anyone interrupting. She wished that time would stand still just for her and her lover. As they began to deepen the kiss, Bankotsu pick her up in his strong arms.

As they got towards the bed, Izayoi and Bankotsu began to give each other sweet, gentle kisses. He laid her down on the bed before getting on top of her. He started to kiss Izayoi more deeply, taking in her beautiful and soft lips. Things were getting heated up as Bankotsu moved from her mouth to her neck. Izayoi removed Bankotsu's armor and let it fall to the ground. He undid Izayoi's kimono, letting it slide off her skin. Izayoi wrapped her arms around his neck. Bankotsu ran his hands up her thighs. Izayoi moaned with pleasure as she felt a tingling sensation in between her thighs. She felt Bankotsu pause as he tried to remove her bra. "How do you take this off?" Bankotsu asked, yanking on it impatiently. "Oh, you unclip it from the back." Bankotsu got frustrated trying to remove it properly and ripped it off. Izayoi gasped with embarrassment. She blushed deeply. Bankotsu moved closer to her face and kissed her lips lightly before saying in an annoyed voice,"It was in the way!"

Izayoi laughed before kissing his neck as she removed the rest of Bankotsu's clothing. Bankotsu glanced at Izayoi before removing her underwear. Izayoi nodded for him to continue and Bankotsu threw the underwear onto the floor along with the rest of the clothing. He moved down to kiss and caress her body. Izayoi moaned as she felt his fire hot skin press against hers. Izayoi opened her legs to let him through while he nibbled on her lower lip. "You're so beautiful, Izayoi," he whispered as he began to work his way down.

Izayoi moaned as he clamped his mouth around one of her breast. Izayoi ran her fingers through his silky hair as he caressed her other breast. He placed his member at the entrance of her womanhood. She felt her thighs burn with desire when he refused to pierce through. She whimpered in pleasure, having a hard time breathing. While he kissed her neck, Bankotsu slid in halfway. Izayoi cried out in pain, digging her nails into his shoulders. After waiting for a while, Bankotsu pulled out and suddenly thrusted back in. Izayoi moaned,"Bankotsu..." He began to move with a slow pace.

Izayoi was still holding onto his shoulders, feeling the burning passion flowing inside of her. Izayoi started to move with him, panting excitedly. Wrapping her legs around his waist helped her to hold in the burning desire building up quickly inside her. Bankotsu kissed her jaw line, touching her breasts once more. He was gaining pleasure hearing her moan and squirm under him in delight. "Ban...kotsu," she panted, running her hands up his back. Bankotsu loved the way she said his name. Wanting more out of her, he began to fasten his pace. Izayoi felt him entering her deeper and deeper with each thrust. Crying out in pleasurable pain, she suddenly noticed the pressure his body was putting against hers as he moved faster. "Oh...come on, Izayoi!" he moaned. Izayoi picked up the pace at his command.

Bankotsu kissed her breasts once more, making her quiver. Then, he moved his tongue towards her nipple, nibbling it slightly, listening to her beautiful moaning. "Faster!" Izayoi yelled out. Bankotsu thrusted in faster and deeper than before saying,"Do you have any idea how long I've wanted to do this?" "I should be asking you that," she replied. "Izayoi, you're gorgeous," Bankotsu panted. Izayoi kissed him on his lower lip roughly.

"Izayoi!" "Bankotsu!" They were both screaming each other's name in the heat of passion. Izayoi was starting to get exhausted, feeling her whole body shaking. Bankotsu, too, was feeling tired as he continued to do his thing waiting for his release. The burning of fire ended with him finally peaking and Izayoi letting out one last moan. She then sank onto the bed, feeling very weakened. Bankotsu collasped right next to her. He pulled the covers over their sweat-glistening bodies. Izayoi rested her head on his chest. Stroking her hair, he said," I love you." "I love you, too." With that the couple fell asleep, listening to each other's steady breathing.

_Author's Note: I know this could've been better, but this is my first fanfic...so hopefully I'll be able to write better lemony scenes in the future! Thanks for all your reviews! If you agree on wanting a sequel, send a review!_


	23. Chapter 23

**Chapter 23**

Izayoi woke up when she felt Bankotsu kiss her cheek the next day. She smiled at him as he brushed her hair aside. "Good morning," he whispered. "Good morning," Izayoi replied, kissing his lips softly. "So...what did you think?" Bankotsu asked, embracing her. "About what?" Izayoi asked. "Last night." "I love it!" Izayoi whispered excitedly. Bankotsu grabbed her hand and replied,"Glad you liked it." He kissed her hand and stroked her hip and legs. Izayoi laid her head on his chest.

As she rubbed his chest, she suddenly noticed that it was probably around noon. "What time is it?!" she asked, sitting up suddenly. "I don't know. Why?" Bankotsu replied, running a hand up her back. "I'm forbidden from going out of the castle. If my father finds out that I'm not home, he'll kill me!" Izayoi said, hastily getting dressed. "Why doesn't he let you go out anymore?" Bankotsu asked, getting dressed himself. "I don't know. He's weird," Izayoi said randomly. Bankotsu laughed as he finished putting on his clothes. "Okay, then let's go before anyone finds out that you left," he said. And with that, Izayoi left with Bankotsu back to the castle.

Kagura lay in Izayoi's bed thinking,_"When is Izayoi getting back?" _She was starting to worry. What if Hakudoshi or Naraku found out that Izayoi had gone out? And she would surely be punished by Naraku is she was caught for helping Izayoi escape.

Izayoi suddenly came into the room, quite out of breath. "What took you?" Kagura asked. "No time to explain, Kagura. Hurry in case Hakudoshi comes!" Izayoi whispered. Kagura walked out of the room and Izayoi decided to go take a bath to avoid suspicions. As she washed her hair she noticed a hickey on the spot where her neck connected with her shoulder. _"Oh great! Now I have one mark by Bankotsu and one by Hakudoshi!"_ Izayoi thought angrily. _"Oh well. It's not like anyone's gonna see it.Hopefully!" _After she finished bathing, she got out and went into her room to get dressed.

She quickly checked the time on her phone and saw that it was already 3:00! "No wonder Kagura said I took forever!" Izayoi whispered to herself. She then turned when she heard someone open the door. "What do you need, Hakudoshi?" Izayoi asked. She had never felt more prone to him than now that she merely had a towel wrapped around her. "Are you ready for our wedding tonight?" he asked, approaching her. "Uhh...no!" Izayoi replied. He smirked before saying,"What's that on your neck?" "What?" Izayoi asked. Hakudoshi pulled her closer to him and examined her neck.

_"Oh no!"_ Izayoi thought panicking. She had left the hickey exposed and had forgotten that she had it. She felt him run a finger over it. "What is this, Izayoi?" he asked slowly. "Oh, I...burned myself when I was...straightening my hair last night," Izayoi said wildly. "It doesn't feel like a burn," Hakudoshi replied looking at her with his violet eyes. Izayoi pulled away and said,"Fine! Don't believe me then!"_ "I wish he could die!"_ she thought. A sudden, mental picture of the demon Sesshomaru killing Hakudoshi popped into her head. "You want someone to kill me don't you?" he asked, walking to the door. "Yes. More than anything," Izayoi replied curtly. Hakudoshi snickered as he left. "Whatever!" Izayoi said as she started to get dressed.

Afterwards, she went to go eat something. There was no one sitting at the table, as usual. However, she sat down and called for a servant to make her something. While she was waiting for the servant to come back, Naraku came in and sat down beside her. Izayoi ignored him, seeing as she hadn't talked to him in nearly a month. "I need you to get ready in about a couple of hours for your wedding," Naraku said. "I know. You don't need to remind me," Izayoi said brusquely. "There's no need to use that tone." "Yeah sure," Izayoi whispered. "Can I invite my friends to the wedding?" "Yes, even if you don't deserve it. You have been acting up quite often recently," Naraku said, rising. "So?!" Izayoi retorted.

Naraku didn't answer as he left her by herself. His little visit had left Izayoi in a bad mood. She didn't see why he had come, if he supposedly didn't care what she did. When the servant came back, Izayoi ate her food rapidly and went back to her room, hoping that something would delay or even cancel the wedding. She decided to call up her friends to see if they would come to her wedding. "Hey, Elena," Izayoi said as soon as she heard her pick up the phone. "Hey, Izayoi. So, has anything happened?" Izayoi sighed,"Unfortunately not. I'm still marrying Hakudoshi. Do you think you guys can come to the wedding?" "Sure," Elena replied. "When is it?" "Today around 7:00," Izayoi replied.

"What?! Today?!" Izayoi sighed again. "Yes, I know. I forgot to tell you sooner. So can you guys come?" "Yeah, we'll come. At seven, right?" Elena said. "Yeah. Well, alright then. I need to get ready." "Hey, can I come over to help you get ready?!" Elena said, suddenly sounding eager. "Uhh, sure," Izayoi said confused. "I love helping the bride get ready. Like the time I helped my cousin, Jes--" "Okay, okay. I get the point. You can come." "Then wait 'til I get there! Bye!" "Bye," Izayoi said. Izayoi closed her phone, and sighed once again.

Izayoi passed the next hour listening to music. She was listening to 'Apologize' (by Timbaland ft. OneRepublic) when she heard a knock on her door. "Come in," she called out lazily. The door opened and she saw Kohaku, who said,"Umm...your friends are here. I'm not sure what they want, though." "Tell 'em to come in," Izayoi said. Kohaku nodded and left to go fetch her friends. "I wonder if Itzsuna came too," she thought. Sure enough, Elena had brought Itzsuna with her to help get Izayoi ready for the wedding. "Okay...where to start?!" Elena exclaimed eagerly. "We still have an hour and a half left. What's the rush?" Izayoi asked, standing up. "Actually we have two hours," Itzsuna corrected. "Alright. Can you guys wait for me? I gotta go take another bath, even though I just took one 3 hours ago," Izayoi said. "Yeah, sure. Be quick though, 'cause I'm gonna straighten your hair!" Elena said excitedly.

After her quick bath, Izayoi was suddenly pulled by Elena as she roughly tried to towel dry her hair as quick as possible. "Elena! Calm down, girl!" Itzsuna exclaimed. Elena stopped and said,"Oh, sorry, Izayoi! It's just that I love weddings so much!" "It seems as if you want this wedding to happen," Itzsuna said. "In case you haven't realized it, Izayoi's marrying someone she **really** hates! Now, if she was to marry Bankotsu, then you could act all cheerful and crazy!" Elena sighed and said,"I know...but you haven't even told Bankotsu about the marriage, have you Izayoi?" Izayoi shook her head and they all sighed. A knock at the door ended the silence.

Izayoi went to open it and saw Kagura holding a beautiful white kimono. "Here's your kimono," Kagura said heavily. Apparently she didn't know what else to say and just left. Izayoi went over to her bed and held out her kimono in front of her. "Wow!" Itzsuna said. "It's beautiful!" Elena agreed, examining it. "This has got to be the finest silk I've ever felt before!" Izayoi examined the kimono also. It was mostly white, but had some light pink cherry blossom designs on it. It actually was the most beautiful kimono Izayoi had ever seen. But as she saw it, she realized that it also depressed her. It actually was happening this time. She was going to marry someone she did not love. "I don't want to get married," Izayoi sniffed, tears rolling down her cheeks silently. Itzsuna and Elena went over and hugged her tightly.

"Come on, cheer up! For all we know, you might not even marry! Maybe Bankotsu will come just in time! When you least expect it," Itzsuna said. "Yeah right! That only happens in fairy tales," Izayoi replied, wiping away her tears. "Ya never know!" Elena added. "Ya gotta think on the bright side!" Izayoi breathed in deeply and said,"Okay. Help me get ready." Since Izayoi's hair was still damp, Itzsuna and Elena started to work on her nails. They filed her nails so that they were all even and then painted them over only with a gloss for a natural look. "Oh, you guys...I forgot to tell you that I...slept with Bankotsu last night," Izayoi said quickly. Itzsuna gasped and Elena almost dropped the bottle of nail polish. "You what?!" Elena said shocked. Itzsuna however said,"How was it?" "Well, I liked it!" Izayoi said truthfully.

"Did it hurt when...you know..." Itzsuna asked curiously. "Yeah, but it felt soooo good." "Izayoi! I never thought **you** would ever do that before you got married!" Elena scolded. "Well, do you think she would rather sleep with Bankotsu or that guy she hates?" Itzsuna asked. "Well...I...umm...just forget what I said," Elena said. "Tell us everything!" she blurted out. "I knew you wouldn't resist asking," Itzsuna laughed. As they added the finishing touches to her nails and dried her hair, Izayoi told them everything. Elena insisted for the details but Itzsuna said that it was personal information and that Izayoi had the right not to tell if she didn't want to.

However, as Elena straightened her hair, Izayoi decided to tell them ALL the details. "Why are you blushing, Itzsuna?" Izayoi asked suspiciously. "It's 'cause she's imagining her and Reno when you're talking!" Elena said, applying a cream into Izayoi's hair and brushing it. She and Izayoi laughed as Itzsuna remained quiet. "See?" Elena said. "Cat got your tongue?" "I have the right to remain silent," Itzsuna replied. "Since when do you remember your rights?" Izayoi asked. And so, two hours passed by with the three of them talking and laughing. They would make fun of people back home and of the other Turks. Itzsuna and Elena tried to keep Izayoi's mind off the wedding by making her laugh constantly.

But at the end, when they were fixing Izayoi's kimono, she went back to her depressed state. As she put on her jewelery, Izayoi said,"Thanks for being here with me." "No problem," Elena said. "You know you can count on us for anything!" "Yeah!" Itzsuna agreed. "Don't worry! This'll be over and before you know it you'll be marrying Bankotsu!" "I guess I'll try to think positive like you guys," Izayoi said, walking out of the room. "Well, we'd better go outside. The guys will probably be there already," Elena said, looking at her watch. "See ya outside!" She and Itzsuna hugged Izayoi before running off outside. Izayoi went back inside her room and looked into the mirror. Her hair was picked up in a sort of bun with strands of hair sticking out it. Her bangs were parted to the side of her face, which had some blush on it. Elena had put the blush on her saying that she should at least have a fake blushy look on her face. _"I __**do**__ look beautiful,"_ Izayoi thought. _"Too bad I'm someone else's bride, instead of Bankotsu's"_ Izayoi sighed and, with one last glance at her reflection, walked out of her room and to the courtyard.

_Author's Note: I don't know how Japanese weddings are supposed to be, but, hey, I tried my best!_


	24. Chapter 24

**Chapter 24**

Outside, the Turks were standing by talking about Izayoi. "Does...Bankotsu know about the wedding?" Tseng asked. "Apparently not," Elena said. "No one told him, not even Izayoi." "Why didn't she tell him?" "I have no idea," Elena replied. They saw Kagura walk over to them and said,"I told a couple of his friends that Izayoi was getting married. But...I'm not sure if they've told him yet." "When did you tell them?" Itzsuna asked. "Just a few hours ago," Kagura continued. "They might've forgotten, though. I'd better leave before Naraku gets suspicious."

The Turks watched Kagura walk back over to where Naraku was. "Do ya think he'll come?" Itzsuna asked. "If they told him, I'm pretty sure he will," Tseng said. "He doesn't look like the type to just let something like this happen." "I hope he comes," Elena said. She look over at Reno, who she had noticed hadn't spoken at all. "What are you doing Reno?" "I'm getting the camcorder ready," he replied. "For what?" Itzsuna asked, placing her hands on her hips. "Uhh...to record the wedding," Reno answered. Itzsuna rolled her eyes. "I guess," she said.

Izayoi paused outside a window on the way outside. She saw the Turks standing in their little group. She also saw Naraku, Kagura, and Hakudoshi in a group as well. Kanna was also present standing beside Kagura idly, having the same expressionless look on her face. _"Where's Kohaku?" _Izayoi thought. As if on cue, Kohaku came up to her. "Naraku said for you to come down if you're ready," he said. "I'll never be ready for this," Izayoi said hopelessly. The wild thought of running away crossed her mind. "Kohaku, you wouldn't know of another way out of the castle would you?" she asked. "Why?" he asked. "I...I was thinking about...running away!" Izayoi said. "Running away?! Do you have any idea what'll happen if you get caught?" Kohaku said incredulously. "I know it's risky!" Izayoi said. "But there's always a chance that I won't get caught. And besides, I'd do anything to avoid marrying Hakudoshi."

Kohaku sighed and looked at her for a while before saying,"Why are you telling me this?" "Because I need you to help me escape!" "What?! If I were caught helping you, Naraku would surely kill me!" Kohaku exclaimed. "Don't worry! If we do get caught, I'll take the blame for you! I'll make sure my dad doesn't harm you!" Izayoi replied. "I'm not sure about this," Kohaku hesitated. "Please?" Izayoi begged. Kohaku stared at her for a long time before answering,"Okay. I'll help you. I know of another way out of the castle that'll lead you to the place where Bankotsu and his friends usually hangs out." "You know about that place?" "Yeah. He told me that I could always find him there if Naraku needed a job done," he replied. "Thanks so much, Kohaku!" Izayoi whispered excitedly. "Follow me." Izayoi followed Kohaku down to a distant part of the castle that she had never been to before.

After walking for a few minutes, Kohaku suddenly pulled Izayoi behind a wall. "Someone's coming," he whispered. "Shit," Izayoi said to herself. Kohaku leaned against the wall, checking to see if the coast was clear. "Okay. It's safe," he whispered. "What are you doing, Izayoi?" Izayoi gulped as she heard her father's dark, silky voice come from behind her. _"Damn!"_ she thought, not wanting to turn around. "Were you planning on running away?" Slowly she turned around and replied, without looking at him,"Yes." Naraku grasped Izayoi's arm and said,"Come. And you, Kohaku, I'll deal with you after the wedding." "No!" Izayoi exclaimed. "He didn't have anything to do with this, I swear! I made him help me!" Naraku looked coldly at Izayoi and Kohaku. "Very well then. Consider yourself lucky that Izayoi stood up for you, Kohaku." And with that, Naraku walked off to the courtyard, keeping a firm grasp on Izayoi's arm.

"Here," Naraku said, walking over to Hakudoshi. "I caught her trying to run away." He tossed her over to Hakudoshi who caught her. "I had a feeling that she would try to escape," he said softly. Hakudoshi grabbed Izayoi's wrist harshly and yanked her closer to him. He whispered in her ear,"Don't even think about running away this time." "What are you going to do to me if I do?" Izayoi tested him. "Oh, I won't lay a hand on such a lovely thing as yourself," he replied. He cupped her chin. "But if I must, I will kill your beloved Bankotsu. Without him, you won't have anyone else to run to." Izayoi gasped. Hakudoshi smirked with satisfaction as he saw Izayoi suddenly look terrified. He relaxed his grip on her and added,"But you don't need to worry about that...for now. If you do as I say, I'll let Bankotsu live." Izayoi pulled away from him. She didn't know what to say. She regretted that she hadn't told Bankotsu about the marriage. Hakudoshi reached over and gently touched her face. "You look so beautiful," he muttered. Izayoi brushed away his hand and turned away, tears starting to flow down her cheeks.

The Band of Seven was walking through a forest, trying to pass the time. "Today's taking forever!" Jakotsu complained. "Can we go destroy some village?" Suikotsu asked. "Why don't we just go to the wedding?" Jakotsu suggested. Bankotsu stopped suddenly and turned around. "What wedding?" "You didn't hear about it?" "No. Who's getting married?" Bankotsu asked. "Izayoi. She's getting married with Hakudoshi!" "What?!" Bankotsu exclaimed. "Yeah. The wedding should be starting right about now! We could probably still make it," Jakotsu said. Bankotsu didn't reply and ran as fast as he could in the direction of the castle. "Hey! Where are you going, Bankotsu?!" Jakotsu yelled. "Did I say something wrong?" he asked turning to face the rest of the Band of Seven.

"What's keeping him?" Shippo asked impatiently. He, Miroku, and Sango were currently in Kaede's village, waiting for Inuyasha to get back from slaying a demon in the area. "He _**is **_taking a long time," Sango said. "Do you think we should go help him?" "No. He's coming," Miroku said. They turned and saw Inuyasha approaching. "Come on!" he yelled. "What's the rush?" Sango asked. "We're going to Naraku's castle!"

"What?!" Shippo exclaimed. "Why?!" "His daughter's getting married today!" Inuyasha explained. "They won't be expecting an attack!" "I don't think that's a good idea, Inuyasha," Miroku said. "Fine! I'll go myself!" Inuyasha said. And with that, he ran off. "Wait! Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled. He ran off after him as Sango, Shippo, and Kirara followed.

The wedding was about to begin with the priest speaking,"We are gathered here today to join these two in holy matrimony--" The guests began to ignore the priest and talked among themselves. "I wish something exciting would happen. This is a crappy wedding," Reno whispered under his breath while he was recording the whole wedding. Elena turned to look at him. "Reno, you shouldn't say that! And besides, we didn't force you to come,"Elena said, closing in on Reno. He pulled back a little from her. "Move out of the way or you'll break the camera!" "Wh-what?! How dare you?!" Elena whispered furiously.

"Hey, you guys! Quit trying to kill each other!" Itzsuna said, trying to pull the two apart. Elena replied,"He's the one who started the whole thing!" "No, you're the one trying to kill my fun with your face. It's ruining my video!" Reno smirked. Elena wanted to wringe Reno's neck, but Itzsuna blocked her with her arm. "Stop this! You're making fools out of each other !" Itzsuna roughly pushed them away from each other. Reno then whispered,"I guess I'll just have to avoid looking at Ugly over there." Elena turned sharply and said, "What was that, Reno?" "Oh, nothing," Reno nervously said. "That's what I thought!" "Okay, that's enough." Itzsuna said and sighed.

Bankotsu was running as fast as he could towards the castle. "Why the hell didn't Izayoi tell me about the wedding?!" he said to himself. He suddenly remembered the conversation between himself and Naraku 3 weeks earlier. _**+"Bankotsu, I don't want you seeing Izayoi again." "But I'm supposed to look after her," he replied, somewhat angrily. "This is...only temporary. I'm dismissing you from your job for a couple of weeks or so," Naraku said. "How come?" Bankotsu asked. "Family issues," Naraku said shortly. "I would...appreciate it if you don't come around here any longer. Not until I inform you it is okay to do so."+ **"Damn! Naraku knew all along about my relationship with Izayoi. Now, he's marrying her off to that bastard, Hakudoshi!" _Bankotsu picked up his pace. He was hoping that he would make it in time. _"Izayoi, hold on a just bit longer!"_


	25. Chapter 25

**Chapter 25**

Kikyo was passing through a village when she sensed a demonic aura pulsing around the area, making her feel uneasy. Kikyo hurried into the village. Some people were backing away from a shrine in the middle of the village. A few villagers there were acting strangely. Kikyo thought suspiciously_,"Some of these villagers look possessed. It doesn't seem that this could be Naraku's demonic aura. If that's the case then, I think that I might need help to exorcise the demon that is plaguing this village."_ A random villager came up to her. "Priestess! We need your help! Some of the villagers are being controlled by a demon!" "Don't worry. I'll be able to exorcise the demon," Kikyo reassured. "However...I will require some help. Is the head priest here?"

"No, he's not here at the moment. He left to go perform a marriage ceremony at a castle," the villager said. "Hmm...where is this castle?" "Just beyond this forest," the villager replied, pointing past the forest just outside of the village. Kikyo looked intensely at the direction he was pointing in. _"Something's not right...for some reason,"_ Kikyo thought. "Is something wrong, priestess?" Kikyo turned around. "Oh, nothing. I'm going to go look for your priest so we can exorcise your village." "Please hurry, priestess!" another villager said. The villagers watched her go off silently into the forest. "When did the priest leave?" a woman asked. "Just now," a man replied. "He should be conducting the ceremony right about now."

Inuyasha and the gang were going in the direction of Naraku's castle. "Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled. "Are you sure we should go to Naraku's castle right now?" "Of course!" Inuyasha yelled back. "He won't be expecting us right now. And besides, I'll be able to get both Naraku and his daughter! That wench that killed Kagome!" "But Naraku's always plans one step ahead of us! I'm sure he'll be expecting us!" Sango yelled. "Who cares if he's expecting us or not! Either way, today is the day I'll finally kill Naraku!" "He's hopeless," Sango said to Miroku, who nodded.

Suddenly, something flew past them, almost hitting Inuyasha. "What the hell?!" Inuyasha yelled. "Oh! Hi, Inuyasha! It's been a while!" Jakotsu yelled happily. "Great! What are you guys doing here?!" Inuyasha yelled back. "I've been looking for you all this time!" Jakotsu said. "Whatever! I don't have time to fight you!" Inuyasha exclaimed. "Come on!" He ran faster trying to ignore Jakotsu saying,"Come back, my Inuyasha!" Miroku got off Kirara and yelled out,"Wind Tunnel!" He kept at it until there was enough debris in the air to escape safely without the Band of Seven knowing where they went. Miroku climbed back onto Kirara with Sango's help and flew after Inuyasha.

Izayoi felt all her worries press even more onto her shoulders as she saw that the wedding was almost about to end._ "Where are you, Bankotsu?" _she thought. If he didn't show up any time soon, Izayoi would be married to Hakudoshi and wouldn't be able to do anything about it. She was trying not to imagine how her life would be knowing that she would have to be with Hakudoshi for the rest of her life. Knowing that she would have to sleep with him that very evening made a shiver run up her spine. "If anyone objects to this matrimony, speak now or forever hold your peace," the priest said. Izayoi gulped, hoping to hear someone object.

Reno and Itzsuna slightly raised a hand, but Elena pulled them back down, shaking her head. _"Oh god!"_ Izayoi thought, feeling tears in her eyes. "I object!" Izayoi looked up and turned. She gasped. She wasn't the only one. Everyone present turned around too.

"Dun, dun, dun," Reno said as he still continued to record. "Reno!" Itzsuna whispered angrily.

_"About time!" _Kagura thought.

"Did you really think I wasn't gonna find out about this?" Bankotsu said, walking over with Banryu resting on his shoulder. _"Damn! He just had to show up, didn't he?!" _Hakudoshi thought angrily. "Bankotsu!" Izayoi screamed. "You came for me!" "Of course I came!" Bankotsu replied smiling, still walking slowly to her. "Did you really think I was gonna let this albino punk have you?!" Izayoi smiled in relief and tried to run to him, but Hakudoshi grasped her arm tightly and pulled her close to him. Izayoi struggled against him but it only resulted in him gripping her even tighter.

"You're hurting me!" Izayoi cried out. "Let her go," Bankotsu said. He stopped smiling and Izayoi noticed how cold his voice sounded. She had never seen or heard him sound so angry before. There was no mercy or emotion in his eyes. Hakudoshi smirked and threw Izayoi aside. She fell and Elena rushed over to her. "Come on," she whispered, escorting Izayoi to where everyone else was. Reno was now recording the start of Bankotsu and Hakudoshi's face off. "Bankotsu and Hakudoshi are about to start their battle! About time!" he narrated. Itzsuna looked over to Reno and asked in an angry whisper,"Reno, what the hell are you doing?!"

"What?! I was narrating. You got a problem with that? Who do you think will win the battle?" Reno asked. "Is that a bet I'm hearing?" "What if it is?" he challenged. "I bet Bankotsu is gonna win," Itzsuna stated. Reno directed the camera at Itzsuna and said,"Fine! I bet Hakudoshi is gonna kick Bankotsu's ass!" Itzsuna glared at Reno. "You're on, Reno! If I win, when we get back to our time, you're going wear a pink thong and go seduce old Mrs. Jones, my next door neighbor! Just pretend that you're wearing that thong to a pool party or something." Reno was utterly speechless for a while. Then he replied,"No! Not Mrs. Jones! Please don't make me do that, Itzsuna!" Reno pleaded and she sneered,"You have to do it Reno. We're betting here remember." "Well, if I win, Itzsuna, you have to go on a date with me!" Reno pointed his finger on his chest. She looked shocked at what the Turk suggested and then said," I know for sure that Bankotsu is gonna kill Hakudoshi!" "Yeah, whatever. I know that I'm gonna win this bet for sure!" Reno said smugly.

On the other end of the battlefield, Bankotsu and Hakudoshi were glaring fiercely at each other. They were ready for a fight to the death in which only one of them would walk away alive. "Hakudoshi, it's time to finish this once and for all!" Bankotsu held his halberd Banryu in front of him and Hakudoshi raised his naginata high above his head. "I thought you would say something like that Bankotsu. However, I'll be the one to walk away unscathed." Bankotsu charged first and was about to clash against Hakudoshi's blade when the pale, young boy moved out of the way. Banryu's blade met the rough surface of the ground. "Why don't you stay still so that I can kill you?!" Hakudoshi just laughed as he disappeared into the clouds that was made from the impact from Banryu's attack. "Can't aim right, Bankotsu? Have your skills as leader of the Band of Seven simply lessened?" he said, a smug look on his face.

His lavender eyes never left the man with the halberd in his hand. "Shut the hell up! You don't know what kind of skills I have! So if I were you, I wouldn't be talking!" Bankotsu yelled back. Hakudoshi took the opportunity to sneak up on Bankotsu before the clouds of dust cleared up completely. "If I you were you, Bankotsu, I wouldn't leave a opening for an enemy," Hakudoshi was about to slash Bankotsu from behind, but the mercenary sensed danger and turned around suddenly. Bankotsu did a back flip just in time to dodge the attack Hakudoshi was about to inflict on him. "Sorry, Hakudoshi, but I'm not planning on getting kill by the likes of you!" he said as he land gracefully back on the ground. The young demon frowned at the man standing front of him unharmed. "Why can't you just do me a favor and just die," he shouted while swinging his weapon sideways. Bankotsu blocked him and hit Hakudoshi forcefully, sending him flying through the air. Bankotsu smirked to himself, knowing that he was going to take his head by the end of the battle.

Kikyo was at the end of the deep forest in which she was to seek out the priest to help her exorcise the demon. "The demonic aura is getting stronger by the minutes. I'd better hurry before it gets any worse!" She went ahead with her soul collectors by her side. Kikyo eyes were narrowing towards the direction of the swirling, clashing demonic aura.

Bankotsu and Hakudoshi were engaged in battle from far away distance and away from the guests and Izayoi . The white demon had his naginata in his hand ready to slash at the young mercenary band leader. Bankotsu raised his fist against the blade and managed to send it back flying out of its master's hand. Angry, Hakudoshi's eyes grew darker than usual and he cursed Bankotsu. "Damn you! That must've been a lucky shot! This time I won't go easy on you!" Bankotsu smirked mischievously. "Yeah right! I bet you were fooling around, not even thinking that I'm a worthy opponent!"

He waved his halberd above his head pointing straight up into the sky. Dark stormy clouds began to gather in the sky, rumbling with thunder. "You know, I hate when people underestimate my abilities!" Hakudoshi grabbed his naginata and started spinning it in his hand rapidly. Bankotsu jumped into the air as lightning flashed across the sky. "Take this!" he yelled as lightning bolts came down crashing towards the ground. They tore apart the ground where ever they landed. Hakudoshi held out his naginata in front of him defensively and put a barrier around himself before Bankotsu's attack could hit him. Bankotsu stared at the place where Hakudoshi was moments earlier, clouds of dust covering the entire area_. "Did I get him?" _he thought as he slowly descended to the ground.

"What the hell just happened?!" Elena exclaimed as the dust was making her eyes water. Tseng took a step forward and said,"Bankotsu's attack hit Hakudoshi but I'm not sure if it really did hit him. I couldn't really see." "Well, I saw that it hit him! It couldn't have missed," Elena replied, brushing dirt off her pants. "Reno aren't you recording this?" Rude asked randomly. "Yeah! I saw these awesome flashy lights. Like the ones in Vegas!" Reno replied, wiping the camera's lens quickly. "I'll take that as a yes," Rude said, walking to Tseng and Elena. "I don't think Hakudoshi would go down **that** easily!" Itzsuna commented.

Kagura looked out at the battlefield. She had a feeling that this battle was far from over. "I truly doubt Hakudoshi would be beaten by a mere human. He's too smart to fall for such an easy attack." Izayoi looked at her and answered softly, "I think you're right...I don't see him anywhere. It could be a possibility that he put up a barrier." She looked up towards the sky. Izayoi then saw a purple orb floating in the air. Looking closely, she saw Hakudoshi in the barrier. Before Izayoi could warn Bankotsu, Hakudoshi disappeared right before her eyes. _"Where did he go? I saw him just now!" _she thought, frantically looking around for Hakudoshi. Reappearing out of nowhere, Hakudoshi slashed Bankotsu on the back and disappeared once more. Blood splattered on the floor, but Bankotsu managed to block his next attack. He continued attacking Bankotsu rapidly then disappearing into the shadows. Finally catching Hakudoshi, Izayoi yelled out,"Look out! Above you!" Bankotsu heard her cry and moved out of the way. "That was close," he said breathlessly as he kneeled down. _"I see…so he's attacking and then hiding back in the shadows!"_ Smiling, Bankotsu said,"This'll be easy!"

Izayoi gasped. "Bankotsu! He's bleeding!" She stared at his blood-soaked back, covering her mouth in devastated way.

Laughing, Hakudoshi yelled out to Bankotsu from the shadows. "Is that the best you can do? It's not like you're even trying!" He popped up, preparing to attack Bankotsu. However, Bankotsu sensed him coming from the side and blocked Hakudoshi's attack with his Banryu_. "How is that possible?!" _Hakudoshi thought as he struggled against Bankotsu. "Your movements are too predictable! I was watching you while you were trying to attack me from afar." Hakudoshi had a sour expression on his face and let his emotions get to him. He started attacking Bankotsu as fiercely and rapidly as before.


	26. Chapter 26

**Chapter 26**

Kikyo saw the wedding/battle going on when she reached the castle. The first person she noticed was Naraku. _"As I suspected, it __**was**__ Naraku's aura!" _she thought. Instinctively, she grabbed her bow and began drawing out an arrow. She stared out, pointing the arrow towards her target. Kikyo steadied her aim, feeling a trickle of sweat form from the top of her forehead and slide down her cheek. She released the arrow. A bright pinkish light formed around it as it was flying through the air.

Naraku motioned his head to the side and saw the arrow coming at him really fast. Before he could do anything about it, the arrow purified the spot where his heart should be. Leaving a hole in his chest, Naraku hissed,"Kikyo!" Naraku grabbed the end of the arrow, trying to pull it out his chest. "Don't bother trying to pull out my arrow, Naraku." Kikyo was walking closer to Naraku with her bow in her hand. "Kikyo, do you really think you pose a threat to me with that measly weapon?" Naraku's hand changed into a tentacle and used it as a weapon against Kikyo. She quickly reacted and shot three arrows. The first two missed Naraku's body. The last arrow hit the oncoming tentacle, splattering clumps of flesh all over the place. "Let's get down to business, Naraku. What is the real reason why you have Izayoi?"

Explosions filled the surroundings, Inuyasha and the others hurried to the castle. Inuyasha's golden eyes widen when he spotted Kikyo with Naraku making him furious. "Kikyo! Naraku, you stay away from her you, bastard!" Inuyasha pulled out his Tetsusaiga from its sheath as he ran towards them. "Inuyasha, don't." Kikyo stopped him from going any further. "This is between me and Naraku." Inuyasha lowered his sword, confused. "Why Kikyo? I wanna help you!" Naraku laughed. "You see, Inuyasha? Kikyo does not want your help. Face it Inuyasha. Kikyo's not your woman anymore." Inuyasha's face burned up.

"I'm not talking to you, Naraku!" he yelled back, pointing his sword at Naraku. "Inuyasha! That's enough!" Kikyo walked in front of Naraku, now becoming impatient with Inuyasha's interference. "Naraku, I will ask you one more time! What do you want with Izayoi?!" Naraku smile mischievously and replied,"To be the one to protect the jewel…in case I ever leave this world. I wanted to be sure that the jewel would not fall into anyone else's hands." Kikyo narrowed her eyes and asked,"Why would you have her protecting the jewel? Back then, you valued the jewel much more than our daughter." Naraku's voice harden,"My reason has no explanation and nothing you do that will change it."

Izayoi looked at the direction where Naraku and Kikyo were with Inuyasha. It seem like there was something big was going on. "_Inuyasha and my mom were lovers in their time…and Naraku tricked them into thinking they betrayed each other. All because that jewel !" _Izayoi thought furiously.

"Kikyo, what do you intend to do?" Inuyasha hollered out. Kikyo didn't answered him. Instead she said angrily,"Naraku, I will not have you use Izayoi in any way you please! I'd been damned before you do her any harm!" Kikyo was ready to take a shot at Naraku, but Naraku threw his miasma towards her and Inuyasha. Taking advantage of this, he shot a tentacle towards Izayoi. Kikyo was covered by Inuyasha before the miasma hit her. Wrapping around Izayoi, the tentacle slowly came back to Naraku and the miasma cleared up. Kikyo angrily cried out to Naraku,"Leave her out of this, Naraku!"

Naraku responded,"Why should I listen you! If you try to kill me, Izayoi would get harmed in the process. You don't want that do you, Kikyo?" _"Damn…Naraku is using her as a shield! He knows perfectly that I wouldn't want her to get hurt!" _she thought, panicking.

Bankotsu was blocking the attacks coming from the enraged Hakudoshi. "You do realize that you 're not exactly hitting me, don't you?" he teased. "Just shut up!" Hakudoshi bellowed furiously and swung his naginata at Bankotsu. He merely laughed at Hakudoshi. "What? Can't you aim right, Hakudoshi? " Bankotsu jested with a smug look on his face.

"_Damn, that Bankotsu! He thinks that he's so smart! If only there was a way to distract him just for a minute," _Hakudoshi thought. The demon searched diversion of some sort. He them spotted Izayoi in Naraku's tentacle and the idea got to him. "_Izayoi…of course! He wouldn't hestitate to go to her aid!_" Hakudoshi smiled.

Getting an uneasy feeling, Bankotsu's smile faded. "What the hell are you smiling about?!" "You really shouldn't be asking questions at a time like this," he replied coolly.

Hakudoshi laughed, knowing full well that Bankotsu's impatience would get to him. "What's the matter, Bankotsu? Don't you like the game I'm playing?" Bankotsu smiled grimly and replied," I though you said one shouldn't ask questions at a time like this!" "Look over there," Hakudoshi pointed. Shocked, Bankotsu couldn't believe what he was seeing. Naraku was holding Izayoi in his tentacle and using her as protection from Kikyo. "_How low can Naraku go? Using his own daughter to get Kikyo!? _" Bankotsu thought angrily.

There was a tense feeling in the air as Kikyo stood there, not knowing what to do. "Now, Kikyo…how about you back away from me? You don't want Izayoi to die, now do you?" he said as he squeezed Izayoi's fragile body a bit to see what Kikyo's reaction would be. Izayoi screamed.

"Naraku, STOP IT!" Kikyo tighten her grip around the wooden bow and tried to remain calm without causing anything that might endanger her or Izayoi's life. "Kikyo, if you agree to stop this foolish idea of killing me and taking the jewel, then I will release her. If you don't agree than you leave me no choice but to kill her!" Naraku mocked. Izayoi's eyes widened in fear as she started to panic. _"What?! So he's going to __**kill **__me?!" _

"Naraku, I don't agree," Kikyo declared. "Well, since that's the way you feel than have it your way," Naraku sneered. He took out a katana and held it next to Izayoi 's neck. "Naraku, don't do it!" Kikyo cried. Raising the katana above his head, Naraku swung down and Izayoi screamed. Kikyo stood frozen, unable to do anything. "STOP!" Izayoi yelled. She closed her eyes as tears began to run down her cheeks. Naraku paused, the blade an inch away from Izayoi's neck. "Please…stop. I don't want any more fighting! I'll protect the jewel! I promise!"

Naraku let Izayoi go and she fell down to the ground. "I promise that I'll protect it with my life!" she continued to cry. Naraku knelt beside her She didn't know to whether hate him for using her or hug him for comfort. "Izayoi, I wasn't going to kill you. I was merely testing Kikyo," Naraku said, placing a hand on her head. Izayoi didn't say anything. She could feel her heart still pounding and leaned on his chest. Kikyo felt relief and was glad that Izayoi didn't get killed.

Bankotsu relaxed after seeing that Naraku spared Izayoi when it seemed as if he was going to kill her. _"She's safe now!"_ he thought thankfully. Hakudoshi took advantage that Bankotsu had let his guard down and punched Bankotsu repeatedly. "You really shouldn't allow yourself to get distracted by a mere woman, Bankotsu. You **should **be concentrating on your opponent," he mocked. The young band leader's body was too limp to allow him to get up. Hakudoshi walked over to Bankotsu and tried to kick him on the side, but Bankotsu caught his foot and send him flying back.

Sango, Miroku, Shippo, and Kirara faced off with the rest of the Band of Seven members. Jakotsu and Mukotsu helped one another to bring down the demon slayer, with Jakotsu using his sword and Mukotsu using his poisonous gas. Kyokotsu battled off the demon cat, Kirara, who had to be flying in the air, dodging the huge giant's attacks. Renkotsu and Ginkotsu used fire arms against Miroku, who was trying to absorb their weapons with his Wind Tunnel while avoiding the shot fired against him. Shippo, the young fox demon, was trying his best to avoid the psychopath Suikotsu's hand claws. Inuyasha got hold of Naraku's attention and started a one-on-one battle with him.

Bankotsu got his Banryu and stood on his feet. Hakudoshi followed suit and reached for his naginata. Charging once more, the two men's blades collided with. Sparks were sent into the air along with a big bang, making a huge whirling gust of air and debris. Their attacks had canceled each other out and Bankotsu and Hakudoshi landed far from each other.

Naraku and Inuyasha hit each other with some of their most powerful attacks, causing them to wreck havoc. Inuyasha sent Naraku the Backlash Wave, destroying the demon's body, only to regenerate back its normal self. Naraku laughed evilly and said," Foolish one! You should know that those who oppose me shall die!"

"We'll see about that, Naraku!" Inuyasha bellowed, brandishing his sword. He was about to use the Wind Scar, but out of nowhere, Kikyo's arrow struck the Tetsusaiga and reversed the sword's transformation. Inuyasha looked at Kikyo, surprised. "Kikyo?!" he whispered. She said nothing. Naraku used the situation and pierced Inuyasha with his tentacle through his chest. He ripped out his heart, smirking. Tetsusaiga dropped on the ground in a pool of blood, alongside it's owner.

"Inuyasha!" Miroku yelled out. "There's no way we'll ever win like this!" Sango yelled, getting on Kirara's back. She helped Miroku and Shippo on, as they fled the battlefield. "Hey! Where the hell are you going, woman?!" Jakotsu yelled after her.

Laying on the ground, Bankotsu felt his strength fading slowly. His hair was loose and partially covered his face. Hakudoshi on the other hand, hadn't become as weakened as Bankotsu. He slowly walked over to Bankotsu. Grabbing a hand full of Bankotsu's jet black hair, he held his naginata above his neck. "Now, Bankotsu. It's time for you to go to your grave…a second time."

Izayoi, watching fearfully what was happening, decided to go the aid of her lover. However, Kagura gripped her wrist and pleaded,"Don't go! It's too dangerous!" Izayoi looked her directly in the eyes and replied,"I have to help him, Kagura! He's going to die if I don't!"

Kagura suddenly had an idea that would help her friend. "Izayoi…I can help you." Izayoi stop struggling and said,"You do? How?" Kagura whispered,"I know where Hakudoshi's heart is."


	27. Chapter 27

_Author's Note: Well this is the final chapter! Enjoy!_

**Chapter 27**

"Where is it, Kagura?" Izayoi asked, eager to know where the heart was. "Come. I'll show you the way." Izayoi and Kagura made their way into the castle. "Kagura, there's so many rooms! How do you know which room it's in?" Smiling, the demoness responded with ease,"Oh, trust me I know." The two women stopped in front of a room with a black door.

Opening the door, the room was filled with jars and containers, like a storage room. "There's some jars where Naraku keeps his incarnations' hearts," Kagura explained. "We need to find the right one soon or Bankotsu will die!" Izayoi exclaimed. Kagura was moving some jars around, until she found some with symbols on them. "You need to calm down, Izayoi. If you help me, well find his heart faster and we can get to Bankotsu and help him out." Kagura said as she turned a jar around, examined it, and then put it back.

"I guess there's no point in arguing," Izayoi sighed. "Well what does the jar look like?" "Well, there's a lot of jars that could be it, but… I remember that the characters on the label are in white."

"What does it say on the label?" Izayoi asked, urging Kagura to think. "I guess his name," she replied.

Izayoi forced herself to search harder until she finally came across it. "I FOUND IT! LOOK!" She showed Kagura the jar. "Yeah, that's the one! Now, let's hurry back!"

They made their way back outside on Kagura's flying feather and landed near the guests. "Izayoi, where were you?" Elena questioned her. "Umm…I had to go find something to help Bankotsu," Izayoi explained, holding the jar in her hands. "Hey, what's with the jar?" Reno asked. "It's…Hakudoshi's heart, Reno," she whispered, trying to freak them out. Shocked, Reno yelled out,"His what?! You've got to be kidding me!" Itzsuna hurried over and covered Reno's mouth and whispered furiously,"Shut up, Reno! Are you trying to attract attention?!"

"Izayoi, whatever you're planning, you'd better hurry up and do it," Elena advised. She nodded and then opened the jar to get the heart out. Izayoi threw the jar aside and after watching it pulse for a while, slipped the heart in her sleeve.

"Hakudoshi! Why don't you kill me instead of Bankotsu?!" she screamed at him. Hakudoshi turned his attention to her and replied,"Well, I wanted to enjoy the night with you and have some fun. But if you insist, then so be it!" He threw Bankotsu's weaken body on the ground and went towards Izayoi and dragged her with him.

Hakudoshi stood in front of Bankotsu once more. As Bankotsu laid on the floor, he was watching Hakudoshi run his hands over Izayoi's body. He made to get up, but his body didn't respond. "Our deal is that you let Bankotsu live and you can do whatever you want with me. You got that?" Izayoi said, trying to negotiate with Hakudoshi.

Bankotsu heard Izayoi's deal not believing that she would go to that length to save him. "Izayoi, what are you trying to do?! I don't need you to get involved in this!" Izayoi replied stubbornly,"No, Bankotsu! This already involves me! This is the only way I can save you!" "Don't be stupid! I need you alive and not dead!"

Hakudoshi interrupted their argument. "Enough of this! In the end someone has to die right?" Hakudoshi smiled at Bankotsu's defeated form and says,"I would certainly like to see the look on your face when you to see her die in front of your eyes!" Holding a blade against Izayoi's neck, Bankotsu could only watch as his lover die without him to be able to do anything about it. Izayoi lowers her head slightly and smiled to herself. "That's what you think." Izayoi quickly pulled out a dagger and the heart. She stabbed the heart fiercely "What?!" Hakudoshi screamed, as he dropped his naginata on the ground. "I snuck in the castle while you weren't looking and took your heart, with Kagura's help!" Hakudoshi eyes widen in surprise. He made to grab her from the neck, but fell forward. Then unexpectedly, his body disappeared along with his heart, not leaving a single trace of his existence.

Izayoi ran over to Bankotsu, kneeling at his sides. She helped him sit up. "You know that was very dangerous!" Bankotsu nagged her. "Yeah, I know. But what else could I have done? I had to save you…after all you're the man I love!" Bankotsu laughed gently, but then coughed up a little blood. "Bankotsu!" Izayoi said worriedly, placing her hand on his chest. "No, I'm alright. Don't worry." He grinned at her. Shaking her head, she said,"I **should **worry about you! You need some rest." Bankotsu slowly laid his head on her lap, staring up at the evening sky as carefully brushed his hair aside.

xXx

Flowers were being thrown at the newlywed couple as cheers were going around. Izayoi was wearing another beautiful kimono on her wedding day with Bankotsu as her groom. Jakotsu approached the couple. "So big brother…how many kids do you want?" Jakotsu asked. "Enough to make a huge army of mercenaries!" he replied. Izayoi gasped and replied,"Bankotsu! We're not going to have **that **many kids! And they're especially not all gonna be mercenaries!" "I was just kidding, Izayoi!" Bankotsu laughed.

Kikyo and Naraku were inside the castle, looking at the commotion outside through a window. "Kikyo, what are you planning to do with your life?" Naraku asked calmly. After staring at him for a moment, Kikyo replied,"I was kind of …hoping to stay near Izayoi." "For her sake…I won't do anything to you. You may stay here." Kikyo was surprised at his acceptance of her request. Kikyo smiled for the first time at Naraku. "As for me, I will forget what has happened in the past and start a new live with Izayoi, Bankotsu and you too."

Bankotsu and Izayoi were in their bedroom, talking about the whole Hakudoshi disaster. "Thank god it's over! We can finally be together!" Izayoi said, sighing in relief. "Yeah, I know. He's gone for good!" Bankotsu kissed Izayoi on the lips before hearing a knock on the door. He went to go open the door, only to see Kohaku. "Umm… Bankotsu sir, your brother, Jakotsu, wants to talk to you really quick." "I'll be back in a minute," Bankotsu told Izayoi, kissing her before leaving.

Izayoi waved goodbye to her husband, watching him leave with Kohaku. As soon as the door closed, Izayoi heard her new phone(courtesy of the Turks, who managed to get home) ring with 'When You Look Me In The Eyes' (by The Jonas Brothers). Izayoi took out the phone. On the screen there was a picture of Reno in a pink thong leaning against Mrs. Jones' doorway. She laughed, saying,"Now, that's a good picture!"

_Author's Note: That's the end! Hope you liked this story! Thank you everyone who reviewed! Also, over the summer, my friend and I are gonna work on the sequel which is gonna be called **'The Red Ribbon of Fate'**. But we're probably not gonna post it 'til sometime in September, cuz this summer, my friend and I aren't gonna be any where near a computer with Internet. Anyway, stay on the look out the sequel! Thanks soooo much for reviewing this story! Bye for now!!_


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